Dream
by isabella1320
Summary: *Sequel to Rose* After finally reunited to her son, Rose's time of peace was quickly cut short when she was recruited by one powerful entity to embark on a mission to save the world she knew of. As much as she wanted to leave her past behind, Rose quickly learnt that it was not easy enough when she faced the man whom left her behind long ago.
1. Chapter 1

"This is not what I have in mind when you said you want to fix the crisis of your identity."

Nero said when he was sitting in the basement of his house; drawing the sigil and ancient spells on the floor with white chalk with Rose; while Kyrie was upstairs and tucked the kids in their sleep to make sure they did not disturb or saw this ritual they were doing.

"I thought that we would have to meet some big shot and have a long, boring talk about how you popped out of after twenty years and still looking young." Nero sighed. "Not in the basement writing on the floor with chalk made by animal skull and the heavy smell of agar wood flowing everywhere."

"Shut it, Nero, this is so much more awesome. I have never anticipated in any of this magic ritual." Nico said when she was holding an incense burner made by copper. "Hey Maraka, where do I put this?"

"It will be in the middle of the star, Miss Goldstein." Maraka said when he saw Lady coming down. "Lady, what a lovely surprise to see you here and join us."

"I am not interested in getting my memory wiped away so yes, of course I have to show up." Lady said when she looked around in discomfort. "But all of this reminding me of my father rituals things, so could you just hurry up?"

"I am sorry about this but powerful magic like this take time and efforts to make it right. But I will sure to pay in mind to hurry this for you."

"Whatever." Lady said when she sat on the chair with her beloved Kalina Ann strap in. "So this magic of yours, does it require any kind of sacrifice?"

"No, I and Rose have enough magic energy to get it done. Even if our strength is lacked, which I highly doubt, we could borrow some from Nero himself."

Nero shrugged lightly when he erased the pattern on the floor and wrote it again as Maraka light up the candle around the room.

"No one will get harmed when this magic get done, right?" Lady said when she cleaned her gun.

"No, they will have like a small confusion, like a sense of dejavu before they continue with their life." Maraka said. "Besides, Rose had been missing for twenty years; most of the people knew her probably have already forget about her, this spell is just to make sure they stayed that way. The main things we need to erase are records about her like books, certificates and writing paper that stored in media. We needed to make sure it was all erased so that Rose could get accessed to her inheritance without a single problem."

"Okay, I think we are all done here." Maraka said when he looked around. "This should be all good to go. Now Rose, do you have that photo you took about the time you are missing?"

"Yes, here."

Rose said when she handled Maraka a small photo of her. He took the photos before snapped his finger, the pattern on the floor light up with the golden light as fire of the candle grew stronger as purple smoke started to come from them. Rose waved her wand lightly as she sung out a small lullaby, softly and gently.

"Oh Lord of the Forgotten, I invite you here for your feast to the memory of mine in the mind of other. Please, eat on my memory of these livings outside of this house but please, spare the one inside for they are the one I wished for my memory to stay longer. Please, claim the memory of those outside but let the one in this house to fade in their own way."

As Rose chanted, the purple smoke turned into a hooded form. Nero blinked his eyes when he tried to see the face under the hood, but each time he blinked his eyes, he kept on forgetting the face underneath it as his memory kept on slipping away from his mind. He could hear Nico hold her breath when the entity reached out it skinny arm as it took Rose picture from Maraka hand before completely disappear.

When the entity completely gone, Nero let out a small breath as he rubbed his head lightly. Lady held tight on her gun when she asked:

"Is that over?"

"Yes, it is. As we are speaking now, the memory of Rose is slowly disappearing from people mind as well as any record she had."

"You could say I was reborn in this world again."

"Yes, and this is the person you needed to contact in the morning to get everything you need to be existed in paper again. He should be finished your paper in a few day then all of you inheritance and assets should be transferred completely to you."

"Thank you, Maraka." Rose said. "So in the meantime, I should not show my face out of the street and crowded place for at least 24 hours, right?"

"Yes, you shouldn't." Maraka said when he picked up his jacket before he turned to Lady. "Lady, allowed me to escort you to your home?"

Lady said nothing when she nodded her head. After an odd time of silent, Nico finally found her voice again when she said:

"That is so damn wrong." Nico puffed out. "Oh my god, how can I forget his face? It was so weird, I mean I looked straight at his face and I cannot remember anything about it. I knew it should be memorable but I can't remember anything. This is my first magic ritual, and I can't even remember the best part."

"Lord of The Forgotten has that effect on you." Rose said when she patted the tanned girl shoulder lightly as they headed upstairs. "Come on, let me show you some book talking about him. Maybe it would ease you up."

As Rose gave Nico some books about the entity before let the engineer go back to her home, Nero just let out long sigh which making Rose had to pay some attention to him when she came to him:

"You okay?"

"Yeah, it's just not feeling that good." Nero said. "I mean, when I met with that guy, I felt the same way that I did when we were in the Trap. Weak, Powerless and Completely..."

"Useless?" Rose said when she poured out a glass of water before gave it to Nero. "Trust me, I know the feeling."

"How do you dealing with those things like that? Just casually call them out and face them, yet knowing that compare to them you are so insignificant, small and powerless again them."

"Because we are not." Rose smiled lightly. "We are as mortals matter, Nero. I mean if we are not, why did the First King of Demon just have to choose a helpless girl to give her a golden heart contained the power of his own? He knew that he didn't have the power to break away from his father upcoming punishment, so he ought to find the outside help. Even a powerful god have to seek help from a couple of mortal like us to get his freedom, how can you think we do not important?"

Nero let out a small grunted of something like an agreement when he rubbed his head before he bid Rose goodnight, making her waving back to him. She looked around before decided to take the trash for Kyrie, the poor girl was nervous when she heard there was a magic ritual under her basement so she completely forgot her trash day duty. Rose let out a slight hum when she finish dump the garbage, but then halted at her feet.

Rose turned her head back when she saw the street light flickered, the wand within her hand felt colder suddenly when she saw a figure stood on the opposite of the road. Rose looked around, it was late in the night and no one was out, especially when nighttime was the time for low level demon to take a stroll out. Not that would be a problem with a Devil Hunter lived right here, but still, the street was clear from normal people which made the perfect situation for non-normal things to meet and talk.

"So you come to take your bone back?"

Rose said when she walked to the man who was leaning the wall. He was wearing a dark sunglass with an expensive black suit with a top hat. Death surely got a taste in fashion, Rose thought when the man smirked lightly:

"Keep it and consider it is a reward for your family dedication of cleaning that woman's mess."

"Umm, thanks." Rose said when she took the wand back. "So why are you here? My family didn't do anything that insulted the Death, right?"

"No, it's actually because I needed a favor from you?"

"Me." Rose said when she pointed at herself. "What can I do for you? I mean, you are the embodiment of the Death itself, I don't think you need anything from a mortal like me."

"That is where you are wrong, dear." The man chuckled when he gestured his arm out for her to hold. "Can we take a stroll together?"

"Okay."

Rose said nervously when she wrapped her arms around his. He felt cooling, like the feeling of the wind of autumn blew through the face but not the ice cold from the ice cube. Rose looked up him when the man said:

"First, I would like to apologize for intruding your privacy but I may have overheard your conversation with your son about mortal and gods like us." The man hummed lightly. "You are right and wrong the same time."

"About?" Rose asked carefully.

"Mortals are important to us, there are things that we can do and they can't as well as there are things mortal can do and gods can't, not if we wouldn't want to violate the rule of the universe and destroy everything that father had built."

"And where I was wrong?"

"That you are a mortal." The man smirked at her. "You are a bright child, surely now, you should know that your body felt different. The power running within your body so strong to the point it shouldn't, and you could sense things that other couldn't. Or more correctly, mortals couldn't."

Rose hands slightly shaken when she let the words sinking in. What he said was true, at first she thought it was just an after effect of getting out the Trap after staying in there for so long. But it had been almost half a year, and she was still feeling it.

"Right now, the word that describes you best would be _immortal. _Not mortal, and yet the same time, not god. The in - between, and therefore, you could do things that both side can't."

"Does that mean I will never die?" Rose asked.

"No, my dear, everything dies. God, mortal, immortal, and even this whole universe will someday perish. For the Death shall claim it all." The man said darkly, making Rose shivered despite it was still quite warm outside.

"It's okay, dear, you have been a good girl and I come here with good intention." Death said smoothly. "If you could help me with this favor of mine, I will let you can choose whenever you could die. If you don't want to die, then I won't come and claim your life. If you want to die, than you can die a very peaceful way. It's a deal that many dream of."

"For real?" Rose asked in shocked.

"Of course." The Death said smoothly. "Like I said, you have been a good girl and I love giving good girls the reward they deserved."

"May I know the favor first?" Rose asked.

"Of course, it's only normal for you." The Death said. "Let put it this way, when the First Born died and emerged with his Father Light, the fragment of his essence flying through the fabric of time and space and causing tears to the barrier of this universe. I have agents that are fixing it, but still when it came to some special jobs, it required the person whose on duty has a little bit more qualification on something like honesty, sense of righteous and self-control."

"I thought to be an agent of Death would have those things first?"

"True, but to be an agent of Death, they would have to a mortal first. And every mortal have regret in the past, something they wanted to change whether they admitted or not." The Death voice became a little more harden. "And I can't allow to have anyone even have the slightest chance of going back in time and change the past, causing the fabric of time to be destroyed."

"So you want me to time travel?" Rose asked. "Wow, that is crazy, even for my standard and I have like really high one."

"The world is bundle of surprise, my dear." The man chuckled. "But with everything you can pull through in the Trap, I believe you are capable of handling this job."

"So why do you need me to time travel? Was there something wrong in the past?"

"Like I said earlier, the barrier of the universe had been tearing by the First Born essence therefore; some nasty creature from different universes had found their way in here. Sure, most of them can be handled by my agents and even some mortals themselves. But there are some that are quite formidable that needed someone with high skill set. And then there was the fact that it happened even in the past and agents have that skill set and not working on more important task are all have a slight chance of altering the past. So I sought out your help, as you are the one whom I find to be the most persistent about keeping the history straight."

Rose nodded in understandment. If anything in the past changed, she would never met Nero again, never got out of the Trap and had a chance to start to life. Heck, even there was the chance that Nero wouldn't be born or alive if she messed things up. So Rose truly did not want anything to change.

"What is the time in the past that I need to travel back?"

"The incident of the Qliphoth Tree in the Red Grave city." The man said. "When the Hell Gate opened with that scale; it made the barrier of the universe slightly weaker, more unstable and easier to be ripped by the First Born essence. You ex-lover is truly a mess to deal with, making me and my agent jobs a lot harder since as we are speaking now, there is an agent heading that way on the tower that he raised."

"To my defend, I was young that time."

"Aren't we all?" The man hummed. "Your mission is to sealed the hole of the barrier and kill all those beasts that break through it, without making anyone notice and or any changes in the history."

"The part go unnoticed would be quite hard, considered if they are strong as you said, I don't think I could just fight without creating a mess around."

"I got that taken care of." The Death said. "But it is you that is the matter. If you can keep yourself together and not trying to reveal yourself or do anything stupid despite whatever you see in there, then nothing would slipped out of the way. But if you can't..."

"I wouldn't." Rose said.

"I hope so, because changing the past is something very tempting. Almost like a forbidden apple of lust."

Rose blinked when she saw that they had already circled back to Nero's home. She let go of the man arm as feeling the cooling leaving her arm and replaced with the warmth. Rose then smiled when she said:

"So I guess I have to see if I could fight against it this time."

"I am glad to hear so." The Death said when he took a small bell put into her hand. "When you are ready, just ring it and you will be on your way. But make sure, not taking too much time. As the time effect like cements, they take time to mold but when they are set then it's too late to do anything."

The golden street light flickered again, and the man disappeared into the thin air just like the way he came. Rose hugged her arms lightly when she headed back to her son home alone.

...

"So you talked to the Death, agreed to time travel in the past about a year ago to kill beasts from another universe from destroying the world." Nero took a sip of his coffee, then another sip, and another sip before he said. "Damn, I need more coffee."

"Here." Rose said when she brought another cup of coffee for Nero. "I thought that I should inform you first to you know, in case of not seeing me around for a few days, you wouldn't think that I got dragged into some hellish limbo by some old god."

"This job sounded dangerous. Are you sure it's okay to do it?" Nero asked.

"I will be fine." Rose said when she grabbed a knife. "Watch."

As Rose slit her hand with the knife, a dark crimson wound appeared on her palm but there was no blood flow from it. Instead, the wound was quickly healed as her hand became normal again.

"So, yeah, I don't think I can die easily anymore." Rose said. "Something to do with the fact I got out of the Trap and being brought into life by a God himself."

"Hmm, I figured." Nero said when he saw Rose's eyes widened. "Call it instinct or something, but I think I could feel that there is something in you changing when you got back here. It's just felt weird and strange, I mean I could feel that you are still human and yet the same time, I am sure that you are not like an ordinary human anymore."

"Oh." Rose said in a small voice. "Anyway, since it was involved in the past, I need to know the exact detail of what happened at the Qliphoth tree from the moment it was raised until it got cut down. I will pull down from internet the newspaper and video clip about those things later, but first, I need to you to tell me the details and important things that you could remember since you were actually there. Of course, after you there will be Nico to fill the blank too."

"Okay, let me see."

Nero said when he tried to remember the details and event of the Qliphoth. Truthfully, he didn't really want to remember about all those pain and emotional coaster in there but with his mother needed his help to save the world, Nero found it hard to say no to something like that. The talk lasted longer than he anticipated when Rose asked about the small, tiny details that he didn't think that it matter. But then Rose remind him about the butterfly effect, when one single misled thing could lead to a disaster. It wasn't until noon that they had to finish when Nico bashed in to take him to a job outside of the city. To which, Rose tagged along with him and brought her home made lunch box for them.

"I hope you like my lunch box."

Rose said to Nico was chewing on her food when Nero was fighting a bunch of demon. The sound of muffle brash and Nico thumbs up to her was her replied when Rose sat on the passenger drinking her smoothies.

"Hmm, Nico, do you know much about the incidents in the Qliphoth tree? And 'V' as he called himself."

Rose asked casually, like it wasn't matter much. Both Nero and her agreed that the whole ordeal with the Death and travel back in time should just kept in silent, as the gravity of those knowledge would trouble life that normal people like Kyrie and Nico a lot without having any good at all.

Knowledge is power, and power come with a weight and price.

That was something both Nero and Rose knew too well.

"I guess you are curious about the human half of your ex huh?"

"Yeah, 'V' wasn't the most creative fake name. For a guy love literature and poem, I thought he would be more imaginative in those leagues."

"He recited poem all over the time. Like when he was fighting, talking and walking around with that blue chicken of him."

"Vergil when I knew him didn't recite poem all the time"

Of course, there was sometimes he read for her to put her into sleep. And then, there were the times when he whispered poem into her ears when they did _that. _Rose used to thought that it was normal until Variet laughed at that and tell that it was actually considered to be kind of a kink.

"Again, except the fact that he dressed like a punk and became a version of an emo Shakespeare all the time, are there anything else?"

"He had these really cool tattoos looking like marks that I think connect deeply to his demonic familiar. He let me took some picture of it, you want to see it?"

"Oh, show me."

As Nico took out her own book, Rose saw a lanky young man with long black hair and green eyes who were half sleep when he took out his arm for Nico to take picture.

"Oh wow, Nero wasn't kidding when he said V and Vergil looked really different. I don't think even his mother could recognize him like this. No wonder with that fake name he could fool his own twin. But Hallelujah, what a piece of cake he is." Rose said when her eyes lit up with fascination. "You talked about his familiars; I wonder where the familiars all are now, when V is gone."

"Dunno, but probably dead since that blue chicken is nowhere to be seen or heard. And let me tell you, that thing is loud."

"Seemed like despite hating noises, V or Vergil always surrounded by noisy people." Rose said when she looked at the young man. "You have more pictures taken at the Qliphoth tree?"

"Not much, I aren't there to take photos. But I will see if I could get you something more."

As Nico stumbled to find in her stack of paper, Nero had finished with the Devils as he breathed out slightly with blood and dirt slightly stained his clothes.

"What are you doing?"

"Finding notes about the Qliphoth for you mom." Nico said when she picked out a small book. "Oh here Miss K, this is my report about that time. Everything I met in there is written down here."

"Oh this is wonderful. Thank you, Nico." Rose said when she flipped the pages. "Talking about that, Maraka just sent me a message about another group of demon popping up in somewhere near here. Could we check that out? He said he will pay for it."

"Sure, it's not like Nero over there is exhausted or anything."

Nero gave Nico a side glance when he happily ate his lunch box made by Rose, not that he never have one but with Kyrie busy with the kid and all, it had been a long time since a proper meal at work. As Nero glanced at the table, there were some photos showed a gothic young man. He supposed if she did this, then they would definitely cross path.

The job that Maraka gave them was quite easy, but Rose observe it with the intense that he found quite strange. And there was the fact that despite they looked really like demons; Nero could feel that they are not.

"Are they...?" Nero asked when Nico dropped them at his house.

"Yes. Can you sense it?"

"Only when I fight them." Nero said. "They felt like demons, but not like the demons that we normally faced."

"Maraka just texted, there is a bunch of them appearing in all over the global, but Red Grave seemed to be the focused target." Rose said. "He had already put on the job for Lady and Trish as well for some other people he knew, but he wondered if you could travel there and stayed for a few weeks to clean up for the heavier duty as he said."

"Heavier duty?"

"It means that some of the creature can only be killed by a specific set of people. Like the agents of Death or people who was blessed with the heart made by The God of Demon himself."

"I see." Nero said. "Guess you and I both have to deal with those things."

"Great power comes with great responsibility."

"Did you just quote Spider-Man?"

"Yep, I love that movie." Rose giggled. "And James Franco is hot."

As the next couple days both Nero and Rose were all busy up to their neck as he had to go and slayed down the extra-universe creature; Rose had to do all the research as carefully as she could about the Qliphoth accident at Red Grave. It wasn't easy to stomach it as thousands people died, more loss their homes and family as it was nearly one year and the Red Grave city still not recovered from this yet.

"God, Vergil, what the hell were you thinking?"

Rose said when she take out a moment of break from her laptop and grab a glass of water. She checked the time when she pressed on her phone:

"Hey Nico, how is everything going?"

"Everything is okay, but damn, this place is swarmed with demons, Miss K. If it wasn't for that friend of yours called us soon, these nasty things are gonna get to the city and kill a bunch of people."

Technically, Maraka was her great great great great grandfather, but their connection was so long that he could just be friend.

"Okay, I am glad to hear things are fine now. Is Nero there?"

"No, he just went out after on phone with Maraka, saying about doing something more heavy lifting."

"Oh, okay, tell him to call me when he got back." Rose said. "Or text will be fine. Just tell him to let me know that he is okay."

"Ok, Miss K."

Rose let out a small sigh when she came of out the balcony and watered her plant. She was currently staying at a rooftop apartment of a building in Fortuna that was passed down for her instead of staying in her old home. Rose decided that she would sell it to Maraka and packed her things to live in another place as the house got too big for just her to stay and Rose couldn't bear to live at a house where her grandma was killed in a sacrificed ritual by her dad.

Rose sighed when she shake her head, she didn't like where this headed to. Too much negativity, it was not good when she was about to head on an important mission.

Maraka gave her some tips about time travel, as he himself had done it a several time as an agent of Death. Like time itself had the ability to heal, so as long as she didn't cause too many ripple effects, it should not be able to affect to the future. Also, the magic that the Death casted on her was meant to make any soul immediately forget Rose when they see her as well as undo any damage to the surrounding. Of course, if the damage was somebody's death then it couldn't be reversed. Death would never step on his own rule, even if it meant destroy the barrier of time.

"Hmm, I wonder if I should just go now." Rose said when she saw the bell, she felt liked she was well inform enough and prepared to face whatever throw at her. "At least just wait until Nero called back then."

Rose shrugged before she went to bed. The next time she woke up, she heard the phone ringing into her ear.

"Hi mom, I just called to tell you that I am fine." Nero said, his voice slightly out of breath. "I am about to head back to motel to take a nap, just so you know."

"I am glad to hear that. And Nero." Rose smiled lightly. "I love you."

There was a moment of silent on the other side of the phone, Rose could almost see Nero nervously scratched his head over the phone at the sudden words when she laughed lightly:

"Just rest Nero, you have a long day after all."

Rose hung up the phone, her smile still on her face when she opened phone to check the pictures that she took over the past few months. There were a lot of fond memories, Kyrie's birthday, their gathering at Julio soccer game, their family photoshoot and some of the time they went out for a picnic to clear their mind.

These memories were her motive, her reason and her string to bind on this life.

Rose sighed when she went and changed her clothes before prepare her breakfast, even though her body didn't need to eat much she still enjoy her three and sometimes four meals per day.

Rose looked at herself in the mirror, as she was wearing white button up shirt, black rain coat and a pair of black of trouser along with an extremely comfortable ankle boots. It was something that simple but still looked good, although Rose didn't think it mattered since anyone saw her would forget immediately. But still, she still liked being pretty even if it meant to go on a dangerous mission.

"_So vain."_

Rose thought amusingly to herself as she held the bell on her hand before she shook it lightly as a shadow engulfed her completely.


	2. Chapter 2

"This is worse than I thought."

Rose said when she put her foot on the destroyed Red Grave city of the past, where she was standing looked like one of the busy parts of city. She looked around to see many human forms that were drying and slowly decaying into dust as the Qliphoth roots sucking their blood. Rose shook her head when she started to walk, first thing first, got to seal the tear in the barrier so nothing could get in here.

As Rose on her way, she slightly paused on the middle of her step as she encountered some demons but they just walked right pass her. It was the spell of The Death himself, Rose thought, of course it would work perfectly. Luckily, it seemed that the evacuation of the Red Grave city had done perfectly as she felt no living human around here anymore. It was a good thing, because even if there was, Rose couldn't save them as the rule of Death did not allow her to alternate the fate of a being supposed to be dead. She did not need to be tested on her morality, no thank you.

Rose let out a small hum when she closed her eyes to sense around, she could feel it vaguely, the existence of those extra-universal creatures exist on here and also the portal. She was quite far from it and there were some EU, which is the name that Rose decided she called them from now, standing on the way to which Rose would have to slay down.

Rose let out her Abyssal for the first time since she got out of the Trap, and amazed that this time it looked so much more vivid that Rose thought she was looking at an actual living creature than just a shadow of her imagination. Her Abyssal now looked like a humanoid form of a black knight with the armor and a horn helmet with his four wings in the back. Although the armor was complete black, she knew who it looked like:

"Lance, my white knight in shining armor."

Rose whispered when she touched the helmet, only to see it melted into smoke at her touch. Rose let out a deep sigh when removed her hand and continue to walk but not before command the Abyssal:

"Kill that ugly piece of meat over there."

The knight silently flew on his wings when his hand shot out his hand with long claw and attacked an EU nearby that looked like a bunch of black goo stick with arms and eyes ball on.

"Hmm, I should call you something." Rose said when she felt the black night silently flew back to her. "Lancelot, like the knight in Camelot then."

The figure said nothing as it was walking next to her. As Rose kept on walking, she saw a few more EU got on the way, some looked like demons like the Empusa or Nobody, some took the human form that almost pass for mortal eyes and some just look straight up disgusting that Rose didn't have the vocabulary to describe it.

"Hmm, there wasn't as much EU as I thought when getting close to the portal." Rose said when she looked at the EU body ripped apart by Lancelot claws. "Is it because of my presence scare them away or video game just purely lying straight at people face when there are always a crowded pack of monsters surrounded the gate lead to the other world?"

"But again, this is my first time for these traveling in time so I guess I would take this into experience. Make me wonder, what date is this again? If it wasn't so long after the demon broke out, perhaps the food in this famous restaurant in Red Grave city still could edible. I heard the head chef was killed in the accidents and so with his secret recipe of those delicious cakes."

"Cakes often stored in the refrigerator, and I see some part of the city still have electric on it, maybe after this I should really check that out."

Rose rambled as Lancelot just silently walked by her side. She knew that technically right now, she was just talking alone all by herself but Rose couldn't help it. It was something she had before and developed even more back in the Trap, when sometimes she went out and venture and no one in the mood to die so she had to go alone. Because if she stayed silent, then she would not be able to delude herself that she wasn't alone and all those fear and doubts would creeping up to her mind. Rose would went insane before she even go into the Land of Illusion and she could not let that happened, not when she still have son waiting for her.

But now, things has gotten a lot better for her and as long as Rose played it right, she would just go home safely with her son and joined a dinner with his family this weekend. Still, it became a habit to talk continuously when she was alone, just like a survival instinct for Rose.

"Oh, so this is the portal huh?"

Rose said when she walked in the middle of the crossroads where there was next to nothing to normal people. But to Rose, she could felt waves of energy from the tear blowing at her face like wind from an upcoming storm as a giant rift tore in the middle of the city.

"Here you go, close it."

Rose said when she threw the bell in the rift, as the bell swallowed into the rift and exploded into a mass of blue goo before the portal completely gone. Rose gave a side glance when she felt multiple creatures in the Red Crave simultaneously raised their presence before conceal it away again. But nonetheless, Rose had remembered their number and boy, she had quite some work to do.

"Okay, let go with you then."

Rose said when pointed her finger at the building next to her, Lancelot shot right at it when he punch the wall. As his fist collide with the wall, it screamed out in pain as the building itself slowly transforming into a giant worm with sharp teeth and greyish skin whipped it glowing neon green tail right at them. Lancelot immediately grabbed the tail and ripped it out from the body of the worm with his sharp talon before he jumped along with the body and used the sharp wings of his as swords cut down whatever part of worm he could touch.

The worm let out a loud scream of pain when the wings of Lancelot shredded half of his body into greyish pieces of meat that quickly turned to dust the moment they hit the ground. Rose jumped out of the way when she felt its ugly head fallen down right next to where she was standing. Even in this distance, the smell of that thing was awful.

"Hey V, I think you should really turn back now. That thing is not something we could handle."

Rose turned around when she heard a brash voice coming from behind, she saw the blue bird or 'chicken' as Nico called it flying in the air while V carefully walked not too far from behind with his cane. Rose let out a small sigh when they seemed to see Lancelot was standing in silent with his wing spread out and his demonic power just fly high in the air.

"Let's go, Lancelot."

Rose said when Lancelot became mass of smoke came back right at her back, she knew that she would see him, but not this soon.

"Hey V, that Sweet cheeks over there is his master." Griffon said in amusement, which successfully making Rose stopped at her track.

"You two can see me?" Rose pointed at her face when she asked in surprise,

"Oh yes, Sweet cheeks, why couldn't we?" The bird said. "It's not like we are blind or something, darling. By the way, you are awfully looked like someone this V here used to know and yet, she couldn't be young or control demon like you. Care to explain why?"

Rose blinked when she remembered what exactly Maraka said about the Death spell that was supposed to make her invisible to mortal eyes:

"_It works on every mortal soul_."

Key words: Mortal soul, not half mortal soul. Or the familiar of it.

"Oh, for god sake, you have got to be kidding me."

Rose slapped at her forehead lightly when Lancelot knock back an angry feline emerged from the markings of the skinny man. In the history there wasn't that much people just split their soul into half like her ex so when Maraka explained the Death spell to her, he wasn't really thinking of this case. But again Death must know about this, after all he is Death, but chose not to talk about this her. No, if he didn't elaborate or warn it to her then the spell must have worked. Just differently.

As Rose turned into smoke and disappeared from their eyesight, both Griffon and V blinked for a moment before they looked around.

"Griffon, check to see if there was any demon activity around." V said when he tapped his cane on the ground. "I could sense the demonic energy was very powerful here, but there is no sign of anything suggest that it could be that powerful."

"Hey V, if it was something this strong then you should turn your head to the other side and find something weaker to poke at." Griffon said. "You, sir, are in no condition of getting in a fight with something like this. You would get your ass whooped in five seconds or less."

V let out an exasperated sigh when he smacked the blue bird with his cane making it let out a loud quack before flying around to check. Rose in the meantime was standing on top of an building not far from there when she saw V shadow disappeared from eyesight. Interesting, Rose thought when she turned her back, it seemed that while the spell didn't work when they saw her but when she got out of their sight, the magic came and claim their memory as she wish.

"Then I should just stay from his way then."

Rose said to herself when she smiled at a white shadow of a woman that looked like a ghost with shark like teeth, before Lancelot came out of her back and lunged at her.

...

"Hmm, I wonder if there is anything edible here."

Rose said when she searched the food rack of the supermarket, while Lancelot fighting with a bunch of dead employees of the supermarket with a creature that look like a hybrid of spider and crab attached on their head. These things seemed to be a type of parasite, Rose thought when Lancelot's claw ripped the creature out of the dead employees head and crush it with his hand. She thought when she put on a lollipop on her mouth, if parasite involved then her job just got nastier.

Fast rate of reproduction, strong life force and fast to spread out.

Without proper monitoring, this could be a true plague that spread out the entire world.

"Then a dome of magic to keep anything from going out." Rose said. "So I have to fetch some ingredients for the spell. But first, give me that thing."

Lancelot tore out the parasite from the head of a dead corspe to give it to Rose, she let out a disgusting snort when touched the creature. Ignoring the feeling of the wet slime on her hand, she could feel that the tingly sensation on her hand when she touched it. Rose licked at her finger wet with slime, she could see very brief flashes of scenery mingled together along with a very light of compulsion to grab some food, not sure if it was from the EU or from herself.

"Telepathically parasite." Rose said when she looked at the pointy legs jerking around in the air. "Okay, let's see what you are made of."

Rose said when she grabbed the parasite EU and put into her head like a hat.

If hat has pointy leg that poke right through her skin and stirring her brain like moms stirring her pot of soup.

Rose could feel her brain flooded with images as the poison and the legs did a really good teamwork into destroy her conception and resistance. Rose tried to focus on where the images coming from but it looked like it was coming from everywhere in the city.

But with a web mind like this, then it usually have a queen like the ants or bees to make sure the web was properly distribute. And then, Rose saw an image, in somewhere dark and wet like a sewer, an egg was just laying there with red light glowing from it.

"Ahhhh."

Rose let out a scream when she felt the crab legs plunged deeper into her skull along with a massive wave of pain struck down her soul as the eggs was glowing a brighter red. Immediately after that, she felt it was yanked violently from her head.

Rose saw the EU struggle weakly on Lancelot hand before it was crushed by him completely; her visions became blurry when she dropped on the floor as Lancelot faded away into her body. Rose breathed shakily when she turned herself on the back before she decided to take a nap so her brain could heal properly. It was okay even if she just laid in here helplessly, it wasn't that easy to see her or even kill this immortal body of her so Rose assumed that it would be fine. Of course, if she didn't cross path with him.

But in all the supermarket and convenience store in this town, what was the percent of they met again in the same day?

Probably something nearly zero.

Or not.

Rose thought when she opened her eyes saw a pair of green eyes looking at her with pure disdain, with the demon bird flew in and land nearby:

"Well, well, well, look like the sleeping beauty here has finally awake without any kiss?" The bird let out a loud laugh when Rose felt a big panther jumped right over her body with his jaw wide opened revealing his sharp teeth, readied to rip her head off. "V here thought he should try to smash your face with the cane but he let that idea waits for you to wake up and answer something he had to ask."

"Who are you and why did you take her face?" V said when he pointed his cane right at Rose's face.

"I am born with this face." Rose answered flatly.

"So you were mold after her, like that woman. It is foolish for any of those thinking that they could use those meekly creatures like you just to get in my mind like my brother. Unlike him, I don't treat things that disgrace my memories with such kindness." V stood up when he lift her chin with the tip of the cane, which by the way extremely sharp. "I destroy them."

Rose felt the cane pierced right through her throat before he pulled it out. This was probably the worst meeting with your ex in the history ever; Rose thought when she held her throat. Her brain was still healing from the poison and the psychic attack that egg sent to her making she was too exhausted to call Lancelot out. Teleport out of here when her mind couldn't even tell which side is right and left wasn't the best idea. It could lead to something like ended up inside a wall or have her organs turned inside out.

"Oh god, I know you hate me talking too much but this is a little bit too much don't you think?" Rose said when she felt her throat healing. "Jeez, I didn't even talk much since we met, not even as half as that feather ball. You are the worst ex-boyfriend in the world."

"Hey V, sweet cheeks over there didn't seemed like to be a demon." The Griffon said when Rose tiredly laid on her back and put a hand on her forehead. "She is too laid back for one. That and she didn't die when you put a cane right through her throat."

"She is also not human." V said when he tapped his cane on the floor. "What are you?"

"Unfortunately, your ex-girlfriend." Rose said when she felt her throat hurt when she talked. "Or, someone you used to fuck before you took off and left, if the term ex – girlfriend was too much emotion to describe about me."

"You can't be her." V said when he tapped on her forehead, which still stain some of her blood. "She is just human."

"I am still human." Rose said. "I can't do the ten feet jumping in the air, the seventy five flipped flops in the back or lifting like a ton of weight like nothing like you demons can. I am just a little bit more capable on the magic field and can't die easily."

"Hmm, you talked just like her." V let out a small chuckle before he pressed the cane on her forehead. "But you will need a lot more than talk just like her to persuade me. I don't like to destroy this pretty face of yours, but I just hate being trick."

Rose opened her eyes to see V looked right at her with his jaded eyes, how it felt with such hatred and anger when the cane was about to pierce through her head.

No, she wouldn't have it. Once time a day for being stabbed in the head only.

"You recited poem when we have sex, and successfully making me fallen asleep one time." Rose took a deep breath when she saw V eyes widen. "Right, no joke, Sherlock. How many times have you seen me fell asleep when hearing you read poem and you still do that when we have sex? At one point, you know I have to fall asleep in the middle when you do that and yet _you _are the one who get mad and then decide to do those so called _'punish' _kink. Serious, what's wrong with you and..."

Before Rose could say anything more, she felt the black feline demon stepped away from her as it faded away and became a marking on V's body.

"Okay, seemed sweet cheeks here to be the legit one, I will leave you two alone here have a talk about your old fun times."

As Griffon awkwardly flapped his wings and flew away from them. Now there was just the two of them, V stared at Rose before he kneeled down next to her as his voice slightly broke down:

"I am sorry; I don't think that it is really you since..."

"I could control demon, alive with holes in the skull or being stabbed in the throat with a cane." Rose said when let out a small sigh. "Yeah, I just got these quite recently."

"You look exactly like what I remember." V said softly when he touched her forehead, which was probably hot like lava because all those poison cooking her brain. "You are burning."

"Could you get me some water or milk, I am really thirsty and have no energy to even crawl in four?" Rose said when she put a hand on her eyes. "Some food should soothe me down."

Rose vaguely heard V's cane tapping on the floor when he swiftly left. Not long after that, she felt something pressed on her cheek when she popped up on her two arms.

"Thanks." Rose said when she held the carton box. "Chocolate milk, my favorite."

"I know."

V said when he kneeled down beside her when she drank some milk. Rose felt awkward when someone just silently stared at her when she was eating and drinking.

Even more when it was her ex.

"So, yeah, how are you doing?" Rose said when she saw his skinny body, the black markings all over his body and his punk leather suit. "Sorry, I know you are not the best form and I am not really rubbing salt on the wound but the silent just felt weird between us and I was just trying to change the mood which is probably not the best effort I made, as always."

"I do not wish for us to meet again when I am like this." V trailed away, as Rose could feel the shame and pain laced on his last words. "But, I am still glad to see you are well."

"Yeah, I wish could say the same to you but really." Rose said when she looked up and down. "Sure, you are hot, as always. But the style like a rock addicted emo kid is too young for people of your age, don't you think. Then again, you are rocking it so I guess, thumb up for the new style."

"It's just something I randomly pick up along the way." V said when he looked down to his clothes. "Why are you here, Rose? It's dangerous in here."

"The same thing you do, saving people." Rose said.

"What is that demon who was with you the other day?" V asked. "He is too strong to be any one servant. With his power, he should be able to challenge the King himself."

"You remembered the other day on the street." Rose said. "Damn, that spell really didn't work well on you, did it?"

"You make me forget about it?" V asked when his brows furrowed. "I don't know of any kind of power that could swiftly remove memory like that. Not even the Demon King himself."

"Oh no, I don't have that power." Rose said. "My current employer is."

"Who is your master?"

V voice became a little bit colder when he gripped his cane harder. Rose blinked her eyes when she contemplated. Time travel is a mess, like Death said, and as much as he wished them to do it by themselves, most of the time they needed help from the native of the stream. So he designed some locks to it that can be opened. Like if his agents needed help, they could allow some certain individuals to remember them and help them on their mission. But of course, when the mission accomplished, none of those individuals would remember anything to make sure the history didn't stir.

"It is a long story." Rose said when she stood up, her head still hurt but a lot better now. "Maybe we should find somewhere with a nice place to sit than a cold freezing floor."

V nodded when he slowly walked with her with his cane, Griffon came out from afar when he flapped his wings:

"Hey, love birds, done talking about your glory time yet? Because if you didn't, I don't want to hear any more of your old time stories about how weird you two are."

"Don't worry about that." Rose said when she shook her head. "There wasn't much to begin with."

As Rose found the supermarket's small canteen that luckily hadn't destroyed completely yet along with some edible sausages and eggs, she made for herself and V some simple food to eat. After all, Nico did say that V needed to eat like a human.

"Here, can't talk anything properly with an empty stomach."

Rose said when she put on two plate of food on the table, to which V looked at the eggs and sausages and some chili sauces draw in to a smiley face.

"You still do that with your eggs." V smiled when he took his fork and spoon. "Thank you for the meal."

"You are welcome." Rose said. "So what did you want to know?"

"Your master. Who is he?" V asked.

"Death, or at least, manifestation of the will of it." Rose said when she looked at V's wide eyes. "Mind blowing right?"

"I did hear some ancient legends about there are entity above. Ones that are the manifestation of the forces of the universe." V said slowly. "Legend said, The First Demon King was actually the will of Darkness itself."

"They got that right." Rose said when she chewed her eggs. "But he is dead now, or more correctly, dead in my time."

"Your time?" V asked.

"I am a time traveler. From the future." Rose said. "Bet it blew your head of right this time right."

"That is quite unexpected but explained a lot about how you could recognize from the first glance." V said slowly when he looked at her. "How can you time travel?"

"My boss is Death himself, gave the man some credit. He had a lot more than just a wonderful sense of fashion."

"You met him?"

"Yes, and he asked for my assistance for this one special job." Rose said when she tapped on the table. "Let's say when the Lord of Darkness himself dead, he didn't just die and disappeared. If human died and left behind bodies, then the Lord of Darkness left behind his essences, as it scattered around the time and space itself and destroying the barrier of the universe. The Death has his permanent employees, but they are overload now and so he had to outsourcing, making deals with other capable individuals like me to help him."

"That is some crazy shit you just tell, sweet cheeks." Griffon said with his beak opened.

"My son said the same. Which I don't blame him, my standard about these things is high and even I felt surprise."

"I understand." V said. "So he needed to make people that saw his agents to forget everything so that history could remain untouched."

"Wow, you catch on these things fast." Rose said. "I am impressed; normally people upon hearing this would think that I lost my mind or something like that."

"Hey, if it soothed you darling, I think you are a nut job." The bird said, which earned it a smack from V's cane.

"Right, but since my job is not going as smooth as I expected like any other things, I may need some help. If you agreed to help me, you could retain you memory until I am done with my job and keep the history straight." Rose said when she pointed her finger where the giant tree could be seen from their window. "You should take the deal. After all in my history, you became one with him again like you wish."

V looked out of the window, his eyes slightly dropped when he saw the giant tree before he looked back to her. Something stirred in it and Rose couldn't place her finger on what it was; maybe it was pain, regret, even relief or all of it.

"Of course, I will help you." V said when the corner of his mouth raised. "I am here to help."

"So this is set then, we are partner now." Rose said when she took out her hand. "Looking forward to work with you, partner."

V said nothing but let out a ghostly smile when he shook her hand, his green eyes shined with a strange light when he looked at Rose.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey sweet cheeks, mind telling me shopping in the supermarket has anything to do with saving the history and time?" Griffon said when he flapped his wings around over her head. "Cause I felt like that is all you are doing ever since we saw you in here?"

"Now that V and I are partner, and he is an important part of the history, I have the duty to take care of your master." Rose said when she loaded on the cart a bunch of food and necessities. "He needs food, I love food, so of course we are going to buy a lot of food. That and I need some ingredients for my spell to keep those EU parasites which had multiplied for god knows how many from getting out of this city. Hey, dropped that can of salted tuna for me, it is a crucial ingredients."

"For the spell or your stomach?" Griffon said when he flipped his wings and successfully making a ray of them fallen on her cart.

"Both."

Rose answered when she pushed the cart and picked on multiple things, Lancelot and V are both silently pushed another carts that were filled with goods.

"Okay, seemed like we are all checked out." Rose said when she looked at the carts before she clasped her hand. "Let's go to my hideout then."

With a snap of her finger, a golden dust flew around in them before they all found themselves in a small cozy house with a lamp shedding its warm yellow light in the room.

"Are we still in the Red Grave?" V asked when he looked around. This place looked perfect and lack of any damage that he saw in homes in the Red Grave city.

"Yes." Rose said. "From the article I read, this neighbor was the place took the least damage from the demons or the Qliphoth. You can see that there is still electricity and water running perfectly. Perk of from the future, you can take advantage from a lot of knowledge. There are two bed room, you just choose one and rest. I am going out with Lancelot to make the spell, probably won't be back until morning."

Rose said when Lancelot push one cart go out before they both disappeared. Griffon then landed on the counter when he looked around:

"Well, that's sweet cheeks of your really come in handy. At least we won't worry about food or place to crash anymore." Griffon said. "Where did you meet her again?"

"Fortuna." V said when he took a deep bitter laugh. "She is the first chain of the series of mistakes that lead me to this."

"You know, if we knew your girl is that good, should have just find her instead of Nero. Between Urizen and that demon combined with Dante, I would say..."

"It had already marked in her history that I would become whole again." V said when he tiredly opened one door to his room. "So the choice that I choose Nero turned out to be a right one. There is no need to be thinking more about what choice I made when the result had already done."

And even if he knew about her strength first hand and where she was, V's last shred of pride would not let him found her help. He had broken her heart after she gave him everything and left her behind in the dust to find more power years before, only to crawl back later as powerless and pathetic to seek for her help again in this shadow form of him. That was just too humiliated, even more than finding help from his brother whom he desired to beat so badly.

Rose on the other hand was watching as Lancelot flying on his wings with full speed spreading the gray dust around the perimeter of Red Grave city. As Lancelot finished spreading the dust, rose petals appeared on her hand before she blew them away to make them scattered around the city. The petals quickly turned into dark red flamed that light up the sky for a moment before disappeared. But if any immortal was here, they would see there was this very thin and transparent veil in red color cover the whole city in the air.

"Now both up and down got it covered, I wondered what I should do next." Rose said when she tapped her chin. "Maybe V could be another set of eyes for me, scouting around and looking for anything unusual. That could be good, especially if only me versus all those EUs out there then I won't make it until Nero come here. Which is about less than three weeks, considered the date of today. Damn, deadline."

Rose said when she scratched her head, there was no such thing as an easy meal, especially when it came from the Death himself. Okay, maybe now she should consult with her new partner, because Lancelot sure as hell didn't give her any idea.

But still, in this night she could hunt down as much EU as she could when they still didn't know how to adapt on this world. When she could still vaguely sensed them even though they tried to hide before they learnt to completely disappear in her sense in the morning. Those things was learning to hide fast, cause when Rose felt the first sun ray hitting Red Greave she also lost track most of those EU.

"Hi V."

Rose said tiredly when she back at her hideout in the morning and looked at V whom was eating some bread and milk. She had been fighting all those EUs for all night long and although she killed a lot of them, Rose knew her jobs still has a long way to go. The normal EUs, which were something Lancelot could squash down like bug, were handled nicely and there probably only a few left that Rose sure she could finish later.

It was the parasite that made her drowsy and wrecked her mind. Those things were multiplied fast, faster than she expected when she had destroyed pack after pack of disgusting creature with spider-crab helmet on their heads. To make the things better, that things could latch on both living or dead, demons and human. So if she did not finish these things quick, this place would be their nest and soon enough, everything things on this world would have spider-crab helmet as their new accessories.

"How do we destroy them?" V asked when Rose chewing her cereal and milk and telling him about what she knew.

"I am not sure, since this is my first job dealing with those things." Rose said. "But from movies and my instinct, I think that I need to find their controller, which is an egg that lying somewhere underground in the sewer."

"An egg." V said. "If an egg can control a pack of creature like that, what can it do when it hatched?"

"That is something I am afraid." Rose said when she put down her spoon when she took out from her pocket a golden bracelet. "I know this isn't match with you style but it will alert you when there is an EU nearby. From what I can see, you should be able to handle it just fine. But if it felt like too much on you plate then just use this lighter, I will be right there in a second. After all, you are an important history figure needed to be protected."

Rose said when she winked at V before she let out a small yawn and go to her room to rest. V took the bracelet and the lighter into his pocket before he heading out, Griffon flapped his wings said:

"My, my V, is this me or you are awfully quiet when you are around her? Even more then you usually are and you haven't even sputtered a single line of those poems in the book of yours."

"Every Night & every Morn. Some to Misery are Born. Every Morn & every Night. Some are Born to sweet Delight." V read in his book before he closed it. "She never liked poems and I would love to enjoy my sweet delight she brought in serenity before I forget about her and faced my Misery again."

"Alright, lover boy, whatever fit you." Griffon said when he flung his wings. "Let's go and find those EU that sweet cheeks of yours are looking for."

V walked with his cane on the ground, his memory about her like many of the other memory was blurry and broken after so many torture and pain that laid on him. But seeing her like this now, still youthful and cheerful like she was when they met making it came back more wholly and pristine. She had always been a bundle of joy and light, seeing beauty and goodness from every things around her, always showed her hands and kindness to everyone.

Even if it was to the broken man that tainted by darkness and sins that broke her own heart and left her behind like a throw away rose years ago.

Rose, such a fitting name for her.

As it was the symbol for beauty, love and life. As she was to him now.

V looked at the pack of Empusas with the grayish creature on top of their heads, if she needed his help then he would gladly offer it to her. Not because it would mean for him to achieve his goal, but because he wanted to do it. Because he wanted to be able to do something to her, not just a taker who took everything and left behind just dust and pain anymore.

The Griffon flew around when V stabbed the head of the last Empusa and the creature with his cane, the bird let out a loud quack when it said:

"V, now would be the right time to call that sweet cheeks of yours. Because I just saw a giant dragon flying right at us with a grey spider on his head. That is more of your girl league and her demon."

V said nothing when he looked at the lighter and flipped it, as a golden fire lit up before disappeared as he felt warmth next to him:

"Hi." Rose said when she smiled at him before she took a more careful look. "You know, you didn't look so well. Did you fight those things all by yourself?"

"Yes, they are a lot more trouble than the normal Empusa that I encountered." V said as the demon's bodies slowly disintegrated.

"Hmm, but you can still handle them just fine." Rose said when she put her finger on his neck. "Still, your body is at a frail state, you should not over work your body as I can see that it is slightly out of strength. Next time if you encounter so many EU, just call me. That is my job after all."

"Hey sweet cheeks, wouldn't want to interrupt your lovey dovey but you could see there is a giant dragon heading straight at you right?"

"V is more important."

Rose said passively when she saw the lizard like creature with its dark scale covered its whole body was approaching them. Even from afar, she could smell the disgusting scent of rotten meat coming from its body as its red eyes glowing at her when the mouth opened at them, revealing a ball of fire that was forming like canon.

"Griffon, stay behind me."

Rose said when she stood before V, as the wings behind her back grow bigger when a sword formed from her hands when she flew straight up to dragon mouth. The black wings spread out like a fan when it absorbed and blocked all of the fire shoot at them before she went straight into the dragon opened mouth.

As the dragon closed its mouth as his eyes glowing red when the wings spread out, a black feline came out from V arms when it turned into spinning blades striking right at the dragon stomach. But the demon cat only managed to create a shallow wound on the dragon stomach before it completely healed.

"Eh, V, I think that's just done nothing but pissed it off." Griffon said when the dragon angrily growled at them as its tail rose high, with Shadow jumped around to find another chance to land the hit. "You know, maybe now it is time to run away. It's okay to run away, cause you and me are crucial part of history as your girl said. Besides, she said she is immortal and I am pretty sure that mean she could still alive within that thing stomach while you and I are definitely not."

V let out an annoying breath as he ducked out the dragon's tail like a wrecking ball smashed where he was standing. Griffon grabbed on to his shoulder tightly by his claws to carry him up when the ground crumbled underneath him. As the dragon opened his mouth again, it let out not a fire ball but a scream in pain as its chest was ripped inside out by a sharp blade.

"Sorry for taking so long, it was harder than I thought to cut the way from the stomach to the heart."

Rose said when she flew out from the chest right before V. On her hand, a reddish orb glowing with devilishly light when a mutated form of shadow came right from her back let out a muted scream when it covered the dragon and swallowed it completely. As the once mighty and great dragon quickly turned to nothing but black ash, the mutated shadow came back right at Rose making her let out groan.

"Ouch."

Rose winced slightly, the energy absorbed from the EU was even harder to swallow then demonic energy. If she wasn't an immortal, every single vein in her body would be exploding right now. Still, it was necessary as right now Rose needed a supply of energy no matter how uncomfortable of it to her.

"So you aren't the demon's master. _You _are the demon." The blue bird chipped when it saw Rose sat on the rumble nearby to catch her breath.

"No, I am human." Rose huffed lightly when the pain caused by the EU energy slowly neutralized by the golden heart magic that was beating hard in her chest. "And I never said Lancelot is a demon. He is a forgery of my mind following an image of someone who would be protecting and helping me the most; in this case, a knight with his shining armor in the devil form."

"You are in pain." V said when he moved near to her. "Is the fight with the dragon hurt you this much?"

"Not really." Rose huffed out when she took a shaky breath. "More like because I am digesting its energy into my body and it's a little bit much to me. Demonic energy is easier to digest than this."

"I have never heard of any kind of magic that could allow you to absorb that much of demonic power into a human body." V said when he saw Rose breathed in heavily. "You said you just turned into an immortal recently but from what I can see, you seemed to absorb the demonic energy for quite a long time now."

"Always the sharp one." Rose said when she looked up to V. "In your time in the Underworld, have you ever heard about the legend of the golden heart?"

"You mean the heart that was bestowed by the God of Demon himself to a human." V said when he looked at her. "It is just a legend, Mundus even scoffed at the idea itself as he thought how the Demon God could be bothered to give such a gift to a meekly human."

"Well, it's not. And it was more like a deal than a gift; the golden heart that brings power and beauty for the one who carry it in exchange for her soul and her entire bloodline so that when the time is right, they could be at his service." Rose said when she pointed at her chest. "You are right; no human can absorb that amount of demonic energy. At least, not the ordinary human. But enough about me; you still have the mission here to slow the Qliphoth growth, so just go, I will be just fine."

V silently looked at Rose took up a sharp breath when she punched her chest lightly before she disappeared. His arms put up when the Griffon just swiftly landed on it:

"You know, if she is what she said, then her heart would bring power that could even rival the Qliphoth fruit itself as it is a fragment of the Demon God himself." Griffon slightly moved his head.

"Probably why she didn't mention any of this to me back in before." V said when the corner of his mouth slightly lifted up. "Smart girl. If she did, then Urizen will be chasing after her now instead of raising the Qliphoth."

As much V hated to see the destruction and pain that the Qliphoth caused, a part of him glad that Urizen after its fruit instead of Rose's heart. The thought that a demonic part of him, chasing Rose down just to cut her opened and ate her heart, it was just purely horrified. V didn't think he would be able to live with that action, or even wanted to become one again with the being that doing such the thing to Rose.

"Finally, something more like our play, simple and no new accessories." Griffon said when quickly encountered a bunch of low level demon without anything latched on its head. "Alright, let's light up this party."

As Griffon shot out lightning to attack at the Demons, V swung his cane when Shadow emerged and roared at the enemy:

"Eternity is in love with the productions of time. The busy bee has no time for sorrow."

V said when the Shadow and Griffon processed their attacks, they have no time for these anymore. As the EUs were growing rapidly, he could see that Rose herself was also getting weaker as the thing called Lancelot didn't show up anymore. He didn't know much about Lancelot, but he was sure it wasn't a familiar or something even had its own mind even how vivid and real it may look. The way it act stiffly when it not on the battle, the way it fight was identical to Rose when she fought that dragon; it was just a fraction of her own mind, something to fight for Rose so she could stay safely outside. But now, she had to fight on her own which meant that she didn't have the strength to call it upon anymore.

V didn't know why Rose just got significantly weaken over one night; but he known that if Rose got weaker when EUs just getting more and stronger, she would lost her life for this mission.

"_You know, my son said the same thing."_

His heart slightly ached when he remembered how Rose eyes shined when she talked about her son. She had a family, a son, someone that waited for her at home; and he could not just let it ripped away from her. Not like this.

"Oh, hi V."

Rose said when she came at home quite late at night, V was reading his book on the couch with a lamp next to him. It was quite bizarre scene for Rose, which it felt like he was waiting for her to get home. Like this place was actually a home for them.

"_Oh, stop being so dreamy, at least wait until you are alone."_

Rose thought to herself when she blinked her eyes, she quickly put a smile on her face when she open the fridge to grab something to eat:

"So, why are you up so late? Trouble sleeping or something?"

"You could say that." V said tiredly when he flipped the pages. "My body needed sleep, but my mind hated it."

"That is weird, why would you say so? Sleeping is awesome, it is a drink for the brain and the way to nurture our mind." Rose said when she popped in her mouth some dried raisins. "I get it that demons didn't need to sleep, but I thought that they could at least enjoy them a little bit."

"_He who torments the Chafer's sprite. Weaves a Bower in endless Night."_

V thought when he rested his back in the back of the couch while put a hand on his forehead.

"For the sin that I committed, I have to carry the weight of my action and suffered the consequences of my doing. I could never rest in peace as I am tormented in every single moment I am existing."

Rose put down the food on the counter when she heard V's voice so broken that it almost sounded like he was crying. The thing about loving someone was that it was unbearable to see the one whom loved being in pain. And because Rose still loved Vergil, seeing the human part of him being like this, she couldn't stand there and do nothing. She had promised that she wouldn't get herself involved into him and yet here she was, being his partner in her mission and now apparently, ease up his pain.

It was not that Rose didn't think he deserved this after all the things he did, but because she loved him, it got harder to watch and do nothing.

"I am such loser."

Rose mumbled when she sat next to him, V looked at her through his hooded eyes before he looked away at a subtle attempt to hide his temporal weakness before her. Rose trailed her eyes at the black markings running all over his arms and chest, she took a deep sigh when she said:

"Your familiars, they aren't demons aren't they?" Rose said when she looked at V black hair. "They are kinda like Lancelot, a fraction in the mind but got cut off and gained free will. And judge by the markings and the way you say about your sleep, I would say they are avatar of something you hated in your mind. Like bad memories."

"Nightmare." V whispered. "A nightmare would be corrected."

Rose's eyes widened at this. Nightmare were born from bad memories and horrible experience in the day time, and for V's nightmare to be so strong that it became that vivid and powerful like this, then the pain and agony he suffered must have been excruciating.

Unbearable.

Completely agonizing.

"V, I am so sorry." Rose said when she touched his hands lightly. "I am so sorry that you have been through such horrible things. I am so sorry."

"Don't be." V said when he lifted his hand to touch her hair. "You have nothing to be sorry about, as the presence of you in here was the best thing that could bring comfort to me. If my mind hadn't been so distorted, I dared to say the memories of you will be one of the most beautiful memories I ever had."

Rose was silent when she heard this, as she understood exactly what he meant. Sometimes, after so much pain and torture, it was almost impossible to see beauty in anything even if it was the thing you once cherished the most. At least Rose got her Sisters and friends at the Trap to help her reminded that.

But for Vergil, she didn't think he had anyone at all.

"Say V, you have a large vocabulary." Rose said when she rested her head on the back of the chair. "At least, larger than me. What is the word as the opposite of the word _Nightmare_?"

V for a moment looked like he was completely surprise at her question before he thought about it carefully. After a few moment of silent, he let out a small chuckle when he said:

"It seemed like I couldn't find a perfect word for the antonym of _Nightmare_. _Good dream_ isn't exactly a word, _Daymare _is barely used and not exactly what you are looking for. _Reverie _could be said an almost match as it is a state of being pleasantly lost in one's thoughts; a daydream."

"I didn't even know that word exist." Rose said. "Wow, you really have a knack for words and yet you choose a fake name so lame like 'V'. Why just pick something random like John or Charlie, I am sure that no one will ask question about that name?"

V let out a small smile when he looked at the book on his lap, where the 'V' letter was written in the cover on the brown leather.

"I think it reminded me of the time when I were truly happy."

Rose nodded in understandment as it was the symbol of his happy childhood. Nero did say that Vergil gave him this as some kind of his first memento; so it must have been important to him as the first gift a parent give to their child always meant a lot. Personally, she thought she beat him at the part giving the first present to her kid as the book was kept in the closet and barely read by Nero while her Snow White was with Nero each time he was out in the battlefield.

"You know, when I was small, I hated sleep too." Rose said when she saw V eyes' widened at her. "I know, it's weird when my motto is _'eat well, sleep well is heaven'_ and all that jazz. But at that time, I hated sleeping as when I was asleep, my dream was always so real that when I woke up, I either felt so scared if it was a bad dream or feeling so disappointed when it was good one that turned out not to be real. But then I grow up and my dream became fuzzy and faded, that when I woke up I remembered nothing. To me, that's reason why I love sleeping. It's not a dreamless sleep because I still have dreams, but they are just _dreams_. They are not bad or good, they are just something that I forget immediately when I open my eyes. The only thing they left behind for me is a sense of peace and relief that they bring to my mind after a long day of awake."

"Hmm, that's sound lovely." V said when he rested his head in the back of the couch. "I wish I could feel the same."

"Do you trust me?" Rose said when she moved closer to him.

V looked at her through his hooded lit, before he gave a very gently nod when his hand was barely twitched on her knee, something that now she just realized that they were there at the entire time. As a blue rose formed on her hand, she took it before V's face when she said:

"V, when you see this and go to sleep, you will have a dream. It's not good or bad, but just a dream that you will soon forget. A dream that leave no trace inside your mind; nothing but a sense of serenity and content."

V looked mildly surprise when he took the rose into his hand as Rose smiled at him when she got up:

"It's late V, you should go to bed now." Rose winked at him have before she left. "And have a dream. Just a dream."


	4. Chapter 4

"Morning, V."

Rose said to V when she stretched her arms, nothing give her body a good rejuvenating magical energy like good night sleep.

"Good morning." V said softly when he put on the table a dish with egg on it. "Thank you for last night, I slept very well."

"Only work if you trust me." Rose said when she looked at eggs with smiley face on it. "Oh, you know how to cook. I thought you didn't need to eat or things like that, so do you know to cook?"

"I saw my mother cooked a few times and egg is simple to do." V said when he sat with on the chair. "I hope it taste good."

"Oh, it's good."

Not.

Rose thought when she chewed the eggs, it slightly burn underneath, which was not the worst thing consider the sugar and salt that not dissolved probably until it was on her tongue. And then there was chili and pepper burning in her mouth along with something like curry powder and cinnamon powder; it seemed like V was just throwing every spice that the counter had. Rose took a gulp of milk when she tried her best to chew all her food on the dish and washed the taste away.

"Wow, never thought that I would live to the day when a son of Sparda cook for me." Rose said when she finished her meal, which was harder than she thought. "My grandma would laugh about this so hard. Of course, after she chewed my head after knowing me slept with his son."

"Speaking about your grandma. Do you ever know what happened between her and my father?" V asked.

"No, not really. But it seemed like it was not something romantically or anything of sort, because if it was, then we would be creepy." Rose shivered at the thought.

"Let's not think about that." V said when he chuckled. "I never heard father mentioned about you grandma before."

"It's better that no one knew about their relationship when she had a golden heart in her chest. Do you know what happened if any human or demon knew about our heart? God, she would be murdered ten times for her heart by pack and pack of demons sent by the Prince of Darkness."

"That makes perfect sense, considered his family without a golden heart had already been hunted down by Mundus."

Rose felt like the sudden glooming air when V said that. Vergil as she knew him always admired and looked up to his father. To him, his father was always the man he wanted to be, someone whom he inspired to him. But right now, the bitterness in V voice just proved that his feeling toward his father just not as simple as that.

"V, at least you are alive now and you will be whole in the future." Rose said when she stood up from the table. "That's a better condition than dead, better than my grandma and Sparda himself."

Rose put a hand on his shoulder and patted it lightly before headed out. He needed to see that despite everything he was still lucky. He had a brother whom still cared for him, a son even if he didn't know about him yet. Unlike her, whose only living family left was her son.

Sometimes there were people so lucky and yet, they didn't know it.

Rose took a stroll around the city, she didn't find any things weird despite having wandering around for all morning. In fact, there was nothing out of the ordinary except some demons were grumbling and walking around.

"The lack of evidence is the evidence itself."

Rose mused to herself when she remembered some lines from some television series. Rose walked around when she looked under her feet, if the ground was clear then the underground might not. Rose found a big hole on the street that were caused by demons or the Qliphoth itself and jumped right down right at it. As Rose landed, she immediately felt something shot straight at her which would have gone straight through her heart if it weren't for the wings on her back cut it down. Rose looked at the needles-roots with spike just about to attack her again, she quickly dodge them before cut them down with her black sword.

"Interesting, they could pass Death's spell and sense me." Rose said when she looked at roots that slowly disappeared before she stabbed on what looked like a bag of blood. "Didn't expect any less from the First Life that The First Born created himself. His father seemed to have of some sense of humor to create his First Born's jail following the image of his son's first creation. Damn, father issues again."

"Rose."

Rose turned to see V was walking to her, which was quite a coincidence when they kept bumping at each other like that. If she didn't know better, she would think that he was stalking from day one she had been here. Demons started to appear all around them as they sensed V and attack at them.

"Why are you here?" Rose asked when black smoke came from her back and started to eat all the demons around.

"I am trying to slow down the Qliphoth growth, buying more time before Nero come." V said when he tapped his cane as he looked at the mutated beast turned demons into ashes for the matter of second.

"Oh, I am looking for more EU. Up there is quiet, too quiet so I thought maybe down here would have something more." Rose said. "So far, it seemed like the Death spell didn't work on Qliphoth that well, like many other things in this mission. God, I started to regret accepted his offer, should have let Death finds other people more capable handle this than me."

"The Qliphoth was said to exist before the Underworld itself, I think its power may have been more than the Death could have imagined."

"Yeah, The Demon God did create the Qliphoth as his First Creation, then the Underworld and Demons. As the Light appeared and two worlds tear apart, he used it to connect the two worlds. Not the brightest idea since it got him in jail." Rose said when the demons were gone as the black smoke came back to her body, everything turned into the black dust.

"You possessed knowledge about the First King more than anyone in the Underworld that I have known." V said when he walked along side with her. "How did you end up with such knowledge? Even Mundus may not know half of what you know."

"Hmm, that's a long story." Rose said when she gave him a lopsided smile. "You sure want to hear me rambling about it for the rest of the road."

"I considered myself as a good listener, and you are quite a charming story teller." V motioned his head to show that he was interested.

"Now that is the first, I remembered you always hated when I was talking too much, with that scowl on your face. Something about me being distracted and insufficient in my work."

"I was arrogant and impatient at that time. And perhaps I was scared by you." V said with a small smile when he saw Rose brow's quirked up. "You are so bright and beautiful, glowing with light and joy that like a beautiful rose that no one can take their eyes off. I was completely enchanted by you and when I realized that, I knew that I have to left you before I couldn't."

Rose was completely taken by this sudden confession when she felt a small ache in her chest. That was not what she expected to hear from him after all this time. She thought that she was the only one feel something in their relationship, that her feeling was just a stupid one side love that lasted for too long that it just became outright ridiculous. But now, as Rose had finally known that at least Vergil felt something too, she felt something else in her heart.

A small sense of relief and happiness. For at least her love wasn't so wrong at all.

"You really are not Vergil." Rose sighed when she said. "The Vergil I knew would rather die than say something like that. You are much more sensible and thoughtful than he is. And now I am kinda crushing on that side of you, which is something so not appropriated for we are in the middle of the crisis right now."

"I have always admired your ability to stay true to your emotion and feeling, to embrace it and speak it out loud without fear." V said when he let a small chuckle. "There wasn't many people dare to speak out their feelings out like that."

"My Teacher said it is what keeping me alive instead of just existing for the last two and the half millennium." Rose said when V looked at her with his brow raised at her. "You want to hear my story, strap in. Because it is a long and messy one."

Rose started to tell him about her family deal, how she got into the Trap and stay there for two and half thousand years, being dead and then stuffed back into her body like a turkey being shoved in another turkey over and over again, met and befriended with many Sister and Demons before met her son in it. Suicide to save her son, being a judge to the First Born and brought back to life again. Although she did skim on the fact that Nero was her son, and she came from the future just about one year after this. For all V know, she could come from twenty years later in the future and had a son that was not his. Rose knew her limit, letting V knew about his son too soon even though his mind would be erased still too risky.

"I am sorry for all the pain and grief you had been through." V said, as sincerely as he could.

"Don't be, it shaped the one I am now." Rose said when she shrugged, a fire shot at her hand to burn the giant bag of blood and thorny roots around them when the mutated form of beast eating all the demons around it. "Besides, I could meet my son again, be free and alive in the world I love. It's something that my Sisters could never have."

"I think I know why Death chooses you." V said. "You know what path is right and you will never give up on it no matter what hardship you encountered. It is a quality that needed when dealing with change of fate."

"Hmm, thank for the comment." Rose said when she looked around. "Speaking about that, where is the blue bird? It felt weird not seeing his loud mouth around you."

"I sent him to check out on the air before I went down here." V said.

"And why didn't he come back to you? Checking around shouldn't be that long." Rose said.

"Perhaps when I saw you, I told him to stay up in the air so we could talk alone." V said. "He knew you would keep me safe."

"I would." Rose smiled. "Although following me right now would not be safe, as the EUs are aware about my intention of killing all of them and they are probably gathering their forces with me."

Rose suddenly stopped when she put a hand in the air, as something felt like a chill wind blew passed her.

"We are underground, in the middle of summer and yet, the wind is cold."

V slowly tapped his cane when he said that, Rose nodded when she looked around. She could feel so many EU surrounded them that make her hair stood up. And yet the same time, she couldn't see where was it and how to properly distinct them. Rose touched her hand on the ground, she could feel the pulse beating underneath when the blood was traveling in the Qliphoth roots. As one spiky root suddenly came from the ground and shoot right through her hand, Rose did nothing but stopped V when he swung his cane and about to cut it.

"Ah, so you didn't try to attack me but calling to me, to the same brethren for help." Rose said when she felt the roots did not suck on her blood but just pulsing through her hand. "This is bad, the EUs are currently trying to infect the Qliphoth tree itself. The tree is fighting them on it own, but it not sure how long it could last as these things is quite fast to multiply. Hmm, interesting, it was also cutting down energy and heat, hence we could feel the cold wind."

Rose let out a small sigh when she took the roots out from her hand, which was quickly healing as she rubbed her chin.

"I don't think you need to stop the Qliphoth growth any more at it is slowing down itself to preserve energy fighting again the parasites that are currently latching on it. But still, you needed to fight the demons as they are the meat source for the parasite. Just don't try too hard, you still needed your strength for the big fight later."

V took a step closer as the Qliphoth roots began to sprout from the ground as it wrapped around Rose, she shook her head:

"It's okay, it just took me to the place to help. You should head back and deal with the demons, I will be fine."

As Rose felt the roots pulled her down under the ground, she couldn't help but let out a small yelp as the thorn pierced in her legs. Despite it was trying its best to not wound her and the protection spell she put on herself, it was not comfortable when being dragged underground by a thorny roots.

"Ouch."

Rose said when she landed on her bottom when she felt herself right before a small fruit dangling on the branches. Rose dusted herself a little bit when she looked up the fruit:

"Hmm, so much dead for this one thing." Rose said when she looked at the tiny dangling fruit of this that were slowly getting bigger. "The essences of thousands of human; their life forces, their blood are all converted into one single fruit along with the enormous demonic energy inside the Underworld. To convert and pressed all those energy into one single existence in just one month, must be one heck of the work. You are quite a beauty. A deadly and dangerous existence but nonetheless, beautiful."

Rose walked around the fruit when she looked around, she could see many small grey spider hiding under the branches and around the ground. So it reduces in size to make it easier to hide and blend, Rose thought when she poke at it, the spider quickly run away under the ground out of sight. Even now, when she was standing so close to them, Rose could barely feel their presence at all. Not only reduce in sight but also in presence, choosing a target that it knew she wouldn't be able to slay down easily and concentrate it full strength on it.

"These things are quite brilliant, you know that." Rose said thoughtfully when she looked at the fruit. "Hmm, how could we defeat this one together?"

Many ideas appeared in Rose's head but she did not have the strength or time to pull it off. The barrier she put around the city had drained quite an enormous amount of magic inside her body, it was still doing it as she was standing here as those parasites things still attacking it and tried to get out of the city.

The best way to destroy parasite was just simply burnt down the Qliphoth completely along with every single creature in this city. Not mention about the fact that Rose did not have enough strength to do that, what the point of destroying these things only to see the world as she know it being destroyed completely.

Rose looked carefully at the branches when she sat down. Despite there were so many parasite that was trying to take the blood and energy from the branches, she could feel that they weren't successful at it as the energy leak from the branches were very small. After all, the Qliphoth had the essences of a God from this world while those things just parasite creatures from the different universe.

Rose tapped her finger on the ground, as a tree lover, she spent a good amount of time in garden to take care of her plant. Normally, when there were bugs like this latched on the plant she would just use some bug spray to get them. But there were times she didn't need to, when the plant was strong enough to fight it back.

"How to get you getting stronger? Served other thousands of human for you?"

Rose scoffed at the idea when she took out some chocolate in her pocket and bite it down. That would work for the tree, but then she would become the villain herself.

No, not interested in that.

Rose looked at her hands when she looked at the tree again, she let out a small 'humph' sound when she cut her own hand and touched the bloody branch. Rose winced when she felt her wound burning like acid just dropped on it. Rose quickly pulled her hand back, seeing the crimson wound that wasn't healing as fast as it should be.

"I should not touch places where I shouldn't touch, shouldn't I?"

Rose clicking her tongue when she wrapped her injured hand around her handkerchief, she could feel for even one moment, the Qliphoth energy grew a bit stronger. Just a bit, but it was enough for her to see which way to strengthen the Qliphoth without disturbing the history.

One problem down, one more to go.

The egg.

Rose had no idea where it was, even when she was strong and these creatures were not getting used to this world. She tried to find it the first night here, came out empty hand and she felt like that thing would be extremely bothersome if it was not taken care off. That thing could hide well, and Rose didn't have time to search every single corner of the underground sewer to find a glowing red egg when there were packs of parasite eating the Tree that Demon God made. But the thing about the psychic links was it worked in two sided. Sure, the egg had more power and didn't get affected much when a single parasite got squashed. But if all of the parasites got destroy at the same time, then it would be another story.

But first she needed to make sure all of the parasites were attracted to the Qliphoth and latched on to it but could not hurt it as badly as it thought. As another deep sigh escaped her lips, Rose put her injured hand on the bloody branch and she felt the burning sensation once engulfed her again. Rose felt her life force was being sucked on her as she whispered her spell to mask the energy of the Qliphoth. Being immortal meant having enormous life force that mortal thought that immortal wouldn't die; but if it were draining like this, then an immortal could die like any mortal.

When the EUs were all on the Qliphoth, thought that the Demon Tree was weak and easily to suck on, she would enact her power combine with the Qliphoth to destroy them all at once, she hoped. And then if she was lucky, she would still have power left to destroy the eggs.

"There are a lot of errors in your plan."

V pointed it out when Rose tiredly ate her dinner that V made for her. Thank god for canned soup and sausage needed not to be season and just needed to heat up. If not, Rose didn't think she could withstand her tongue being raped again.

"I know, but time is not in our favor and my body is drained from magic and life force too fast." Rose said when emptied her second dish. "I needed time, and can't do that when those EUs just keep on attacking on the shield that each time it damaged, it absorbed on my magic to heal. I was hoping that when EUs focused the full force on the Qliphoth, I could have some burden lift on my shoulder. I know, my plan has more hole than a mosquito net but it is the best I can do, maybe it will catch some luck and have a good result."

"You should eat more, you looked so tired." V said when he took out some food from the oven for Rose. "I hope these 'Dinner in the Box' filled you up."

"It would do just fine." Rose smiled at him. "Thank you for being so considerate for me, V."

"It is all my pleasure."

Rose almost jumped up when she felt the way he said it. It felt weird, just like there were something else both teasingly and provocative on it. Rose scratched her head lightly, her ability to catch on these things was bad, nearly zero. Maybe it was just imagination; it was just the way V talk. After all V had all Vergil memory and he was more than one told her how dense she was. If he wanted to say something, he would definitely throw it in her face.

"So how is your day? Is anything unusual?" Rose tried her best to be casual when she asked.

"It is still the same. Must be a good sign for you."

"Yes, should be."

Rose nodded her head when she about to head to her room but she felt V's cane slightly touched her shoulder:

"Your hand, is it heal yet?"

"Oh, I forget to check it. Let me see."

Rose said when she unwrapped the handkerchief from her hand. The dark reddish line still was visible, with the edge of the wound slight burnt and turned black but it looked smaller than she thought.

"I remember to see some first aid kit somewhere in here."

V said when he turned his head and searched in the closet before he pulled out a metal white box. He motioned his cane to the couch which Rose sat down and let him fix her wound:

"You know, for a guy that can heal fast, you are quite good at this." Rose said when she saw V hands cleaning her wound and skillfully wrapped the bandage around her wound.

"Used to. I used to heal fast. But now, my body is even weaker than normal human, it is necessary to learn patching up for myself."

Rose looked at V finger touched her palm lightly making it felt slightly tingle. She looked at his sharp feature, the long black lock of his hair fall on his cheeks as his hooded green eyes were focused intensely on her palm. The cost of Vergil coming back was for V as an individual to disappear, the very man that was currently caring for her wound. That thought alone wrenched her heart and making Rose felt hard to swallow.

"Why do I see the sadness inside those pretty eyes of yours?" V carefully looked at Rose face when he finished the bandage for her. "Is there something wrong?"

"Yeah, you." Rose said when she sighed. "It is hard to see someone alive, breathing and feeling now and know that their fate is meant to be disappeared in the future. Even harder when I really like you."

"I am glad to have gained your affection in such a short time but please, do not felt saddened by me. For being whole again is the only way for me to keep on living." V said when he touched her hand through the bandage. "Tell me, in the future, do you meet with Vergil again?"

Rose shook her head lightly, the disappointment was obvious in his eyes when he let out a small bitter chuckle:

"I just wish for once, he embraced his feeling and tried to find again what he had left behind. Maybe then, his path wouldn't be filled with pain and sins."

"I wished that too. But if that happened, then I wouldn't meet you, wouldn't I?" Rose said when she patted his head lightly. "Maybe you feel like your existence is one that filled with pain and sins and I am so sorry for all those torment you feel. But a part of me glad that we met, cause you gave me a closure about Vergil and me that I never knew I needed. That, and I really fancy the sensitive handsome young man whom tried really hard to not recite poem before me just because he don't want to bore me out. I meant really, everyone from the future knew you recited poem almost every time they met you and yet, here I am, didn't hear a single line from that book of yours. I am not a fan of poem, but if you are the one reading it, I am pretty sure I will enjoy every single moments of that."

V's green eyes bored at her, at it looked like it was shaking with so many unnamed feeling that it was about to broke apart. But instead, V just smiled, a small sad smile when he almost whispered:

"Never seek to tell thy love

Love that never told can be

For the gentle wind does move

Silently invisibly"

"Why do I feel like it is a love poem?" Rose asked. "A sad one, even."

"Because it is." V touched her hair, his eyes stared at her lips like it was something precious and endearing the same time. "Can I kiss you?"

Rose was surprised of how timidly and fearful when V asked this, almost like a child asking for the candy. She wasn't some kind of beast, why did he sound so scared?

"Sure."

Rose answered, for better or the worse, she was thousands year old with a pervert friend that showed her how orgy was done for like hundreds of times. Kissing a handsome man that she liked would not take too much time for her to think.

V face moved closer to her, she could feel his breath slightly hitched when his forehead touched her. As his lips touched her lightly, Rose was amazed how soft and plum it was. It was really long time ago, Rose thought when she intertwined her hand into his hair when she deepen the kiss. Soon, the one chaste and gentle kiss turned into something more passionate when V's hand cupped on her cheeks as licked her bottom lip and sucked on it lightly before she opened her mouth and let their tongue dance together. As their lips departed, Rose couldn't help but let out a small chuckled:

"Not bad for someone less than one month old."

V's corner of the mouth slightly tugged up and soon turned into a smug grin that Rose was too familiar with. She sighed when she felt his lips once claimed her again, this time more hungrily and passion like that person. But what can she says, he was a part of Vergil too.

When they both departed their lips again to catch their breath, Rose chest slightly raised up and down, her cheeks slightly hot from the action itself when she caressed his back and realized that despite being quite skinny, he still had some lean muscle to it. She looked at the green eyes young man before her, his eyes burnt with passion when he felt her hand on his back as his hand snaked to her neck while his other hand grabbed her waist to pulled her body closer to his to the point that their heart beat could be felt to each other. Rose took a deep breath, she could feel Variet voice inside her head now:

"Darling, you are over one thousand years old now and the last time you have sex is when you were 18. You needed to get laid darling, or else, your virginity may grow back."

Okay, maybe now it was a good time to do that, Rose thought when she found herself on V's lap and felt a budge under her and kissed him again. After all, it was kind of embarrassing that she lived that long and the number of people she had sexed with was described by singular noun. And they did not even get married.

"V, I liked you a lot." Rose said breathlessly when she moved her lips from his lips, trailed to his cheeks and bite down slightly on his chin, which made his Adam apple bobbed up and down nervously. "I haven't felt like this for a long time and I wished to give you something special because of it. So I will tell you what I want to give you exactly. Now I warn you, it may occur to you as 'completely vile and indecent', so you could say no and not accept my gift. But just for you know, I am not a slut just because of that. I don't do this to some random man that I feel horny to, I do this only to people that I have special feeling toward to. You understand that right?"

V slightly pushed her shoulder back so he could look her in the eyes, his finger slightly lifted her chin when he said:

"I would never think of you like that. Not for one single moments."

Rose smiled when she stroke his hair before she nodded. V couldn't help but feel his stomach slightly warmed up when he felt Rose reached to his ear and whispered in his ears the forbidden words about the vulgar action she wanted to do with him. As the word sinking in his mind, V felt his cheeks were burning by the mere idea, both in embarrassment and excitement.

"You are..." V stammered, he felt like a small child just saw something completely forbidden. "That is very..."

"I have lived for more two thousand years, V. Don't expect me to be a blushing maiden at the mere idea of having sex." Rose said when she stroked his cheek. "What do you say V, is that okay to you?"

V didn't answer her but instead kissed her passionately again when he pulled her closer. Rose giggled when she stood up and lead his hand to her room, so that was an agreement then.

Note: I just noticed that I totally forget about the poem that V recited in here, I am so sorry for that.

The poem he used in this chapter is 'Never seek to tell thy love' by William Blake

The poems in the last chapter following the order of appearance are 'Auguries of Innocence' and

'Proverbs Of Hell - The Marriage of Heaven and Hell', all are the works of William Blake

And again, I am really sorry for the grammar error. English isn't my first language and I tried my best with the Microsoft grammar fix but it's can't be helped.


	5. Chapter 5

Rose opened her eyes when she felt something warm was on top of her waist and legs, she opened her eyes to realize that that was V's legs and arms. He was heavier than he looked, Rose thought when she removed his hand from her waist so she could snuggle closer to him and wrapped her arms around his torso.

Although last night had been amazing, Rose find herself enjoyed these moments of peace too. As she did not carry any weight about the future, he did not have any pain laced in his mind; they were just two normal person enjoyed each other company. But their moments of peace were quickly cut short when an obnoxiously loud voice banging into their ears:

"Hey love birds, it's about the damn time you two wake up. We do not have all day for you two just lazed around in the bed."

V let out an annoying grunted when he grabbed the cane that stood near the nightstand and throw at bird, to which was successfully dodged and let out a loud laugh.

"Screw off."

Rose snap her fingers, which a golden light shot right at the bird and threw it out of the suddenly opened window before it closed itself.

"Hmm, you have quite some nice trick there, haven't you?" V said when he stroked her thighs lovingly.

"Yes, I am." Rose said when she leaned to him to whisper into his ear. "And you yourself are learning things quite fast. I wondered if I just let out some kind of beast go out of the cage."

"Isn't it too late to ask that question?"

V chuckled darkly when he grabbed her ass tightly making Rose gasped while flipped her on her back. But before they could do anything more, a bang in the window interrupted them again as the demon bird screamed at them:

"Aren't you two having enough already? You two horny weirdo were so loud last night that I surprised no demon attracted here, I do not want to hear another sound of you two doing it again. Get out of bed now."

"I could pluck his feather all out and made him a stew in the matter of second; it will be fast and clean. The only thing lingered will be his pain." Rose gritted through her teeth when she got out of bed and give the bird out of the window a middle finger. "Fuck you."

"You are not my type, sweet cheeks." The bird let out a loud laugh before it flew away. "Better get dressed up and kill some demons, cause they aren't gonna kill themselves."

Rose let out a small and angry huff when she picked up her clothes and stepped out of V's room. Despite being angry at the bird rude manner, she still had to be a little bit thankful for it to wake them. V's body wasn't healthy and strong, and last night they may have let their passion play a little bit too much that it may harm his body. The bird cared about V's well-being and being his familiar, it knew his limit very well.

At the same time, it couldn't just spell out about that problem without humiliating V before her face so the best idea was being obnoxiously annoying and self-centered. Rose let water from the shower washed the traces of their last coupling as she let out a small hum of enjoyment. To be honest, she didn't think that she would do this with V for a lot of reason.

First, he was a part of her ex, whom she still not quite over yet. Doing this was not healthy for all those advices of getting over an old relationship. Then there was the fact that it was ex was also the one ripped her son arm out and responsible for thousands of innocent deaths. And one main reason, this wouldn't go anywhere as he would soon disappear completely to merge with the same ex.

But in this mission, with her magic being drained like water to the sewer and her newfound immortality couldn't even keeping with it, Rose felt like she could let all those things pass. If she was going to die in the past without a proper goodbye to her son, at least she could have some quality time to a man that she attractive to after being alone and felt nothing like sort for so long time. All that while being able to actually practice all those lesson that her very perverted friend taught in her time at Trap instead of just being able to watch.

"Ah, why did I always draw to you or even the part of you?"

Rose said to herself when she turned off the water and dried her hair. As she done fixing herself, Rose walked to the kitchen and smelled the scent of food.

"Please just be something that just needed heating."

Rose silently prayed when she entered her seat and saw V's gave her grin when he put on her table an egg casserole.

"Don't worry, I promised it would be good this time."

Rose hesitantly put her spoon to scoop a small piece of egg and put in her mouth, to her surprise, it was really decent. Not the five star material, but on the level of mom cook.

"Hmm, are you pranking me last time or something?" Rose said when she took another scoop. "Cause this is completely on the different level. Last dish was like a punch in the middle of the face while this was like kiss on it."

"Like you said, I learnt fast. I knew last time you didn't enjoy my dish, my apology for that and I tried to improve it as much as I could by reading some cooking book in the bookshelf. I am glad that this time you could enjoy this."

"Oh thank you, that is really sweet." Rose said when she took another bite and feeling the magic inside her body. "Hmm, it seemed like my plan worked since I could feel the barrier of around the city had stopped being attacked by those hideous EUs."

"So you are going to rest and gain your strength for the next days. It's a good move." V sat next to her, a little bit closer than he normally did. "You will stay here all day?"

"And risking you being wounded by those things?" Rose laughed lightly. "Those things are smart, V, probably more than us both. It probably already known that I cared for you, so it might try to do something nasty about it. And I will not have it."

"You know, if what you said is true than there is one more person we needed to worry about."

Rose looked out of the window to saw the glimpse of the giant tree that was standing tall from faraway. V carefully observed her face when she stared intensely at the tree before shaking her head:

"I wouldn't worry about that. Urizen, as you called him, is currently connecting to the Qliphoth, the Tree that have the essence of a God. Those things attack him would end up with nothing but squashed into pieces. And even if we wanted to check on him, it would be hard to not end up the same fate as he is like you, could see through Death spell. And if he was being as half as a delusional ass like Vergil, he would not believe anyone just simply want to be nice to him without some dark motive or something like that."

"He was just being used and hurt so many times, he had failed to see that there is still goodness in people." V looked at the Qliphoth. "I know it is not the excuse for what he had done, but I hope that at least you could understand."

_Because right now, you are the only who would love and protect me. And yet, I have to forget about you for you to come for me again. For these memories to exist in the first place, it needed to be forgotten and buried forever. _

_Joy & Woe are woven fine _

_A Clothing for the soul divine _

_Under every grief & pine_

_Runs a joy with silken twine_

"I could, in some sense." Rose contemplated. "He was alone for so long, the only way for him to live is to survive. Just survived and ignore all the feeling he ever has to continue to survive, and I guess along the way, he just forgot what is the different between live and survive."

V nodded his head when he saw Rose patted his shoulder lightly before she kissed his cheek, her soft voice whispered to him:

"I know you felt like you are alone now but you are not and you never will. In the future I come from, the ending you have is actually something that people like me would wish for." Rose said when she caressed his cheek. "You will have someone you cared and loved deeply fight by your side, someone that won't leave you alone anymore and I will make sure that future exist."

V looked up to Rose's soft eyes, he wished to ask more about the future but then choose not to. The ending that she told him sounded like a pleasant one, and yet there was this dull ache still wrenched in his heart.

_What is about us?_

V wanted to ask about that the most, but from what he could tell, they never crossed path again. And that was completely by his choice.

"Come now, Griffon is probably waiting for us." Rose said when she held his hand. "Even technically there is no one here except us but I am not interested in hearing our sexual activities shouted out in the middle of daylight."

V let out a small chuckle before they both headed out of the house. As weird as it was, Rose felt like she was taking a peaceful stroll with her boyfriend as the wind slightly caressed her cheek. Sure, if they ignored the ruined houses around them, the grumbling sounds of rock and stone when _something_ running underneath it or the smell of occasional stench of demon blood blew to the nose.

Almost like that.

Rose let out a dry chuckle when she looked at the enormous tree from afar. She could never have that, couldn't she? It would always the _almost _but never the authentic thing.

From having her son considered her to be his _almost mother, _to having an _almost _lover or an _almost normal _life.

But never be a mother, a lover or a normal life.

"_You do realize that many of your Sisters would kill for that almost right?"_

A voice ringing inside her head as Rose leaned at some destroyed walls nearby when a pack of low life demons appeared before them and V took out his cane to destroy them. She knew that, she knew she was lucky to be alive and enjoy the life as it was granted to her. But Rose was a human, as human as she could get, and she couldn't help but asking the question of what if.

_What if she never got dragged into the Trap?_

_What if she never subdued to her heart and said no that night?_

_What if she never met Vergil in the first place?_

_Would her life better now? Would she have something more than just an almost?_

Rose took a deep breath when she closed her eyes, these truly were dangerous questions that should not be asked, especially when she was in the past. If anything, Rose should feel glad that she travelled at this time, when all things were done. If it was at the time in Fortuna, she wouldn't be so sure.

"Hello there."

Rose said when she looked at the feline demon silently walked next to her when it just finished ripped all those demons apart, its red eyes blinked at her before it stick out it tongue and lick at her hand gently. Rose looked at V as she stroked the feline when she asked:

"You told it to do it."

"No, I have no command for Shadow affection as I am to Griffon beak to which if I could, it should have been forever shut tight like a clam."

"Hey, hey, hey pretty boy, don't be holding grudge like that. I was just simply keeping you working hard for your goal instead of being puppy love for the sweet cheeks. Not that there were anything puppy or even remotely innocent about you two in the first place."

Rose smiled when she stroke Shadow fur, it felt rough and yet kind of soft like the same time, which caused a weird tingly sensation on her hand. As the feline faded away into V markings, Rose couldn't help but thinking about Nico words. It seemed that when V merged with Urizen, these nightmares were nowhere to be seen. They could either merged with him or chose to be left behind and destroyed.

Rose felt like it was the second option, as she saw Griffon genuine concern about V's well-being or how affectionate Shadow was with V in the short amount of time it spend when they weren't fighting some demons. If it were her being the nightmare of someone she cared about, she would choose to disappear than continue to haunt that person.

Rose looked at V gracefully moved between in the battle of the demons, it took her hundreds of years to move like that and he only lived like few decades. Even if his body were the fragile human body, he hadn't lost all his skill as a formidable fighter he was. And then there was the love for the fight, a glint of excitement when he engaged in the battle and the satisfaction when he gained the victory. Something that Rose too saw in Nero eyes each time he fought.

If she died here, then at how would Nero feel?

Would he feel like she abandoned him again or would he be sad for her?

Rose contemplated for a few second before she took out a note and began to scribble on it about what she wanted to do if she was going to die in here.

First, of course, writing for Nero a letter. Writing about what, she had no idea but she would wait for her to come home tonight to think about it properly.

Second, eating the best meal of her life. Not that easy considered in this city had something edible was already very lucky.

Rose slightly tilted her head back when she was thinking about what she wanted to do if she was going to die and sadly, there wasn't much more.

If Rose was going to die, she would want to see her son again, to tell him that she loved him very much. There was nothing more she would want to do more than that in this situation.

Rose sighed when she thought about this, at least she did tell him she loved him.

"Are you alright?"

V asked when he saw Rose walked next to him, she seemed to be in deep thought when she was writing down something on her notebook.

"I am not sure." Rose said when she smiled at him. "For a two thousand years old woman, I thought that I would have more time. But it seemed to me, I am always running out of time to do the things I really want to do."

"Is there something I could help with?"

"Not really." Rose said. "I was writing ideas of what I would write for my son in my last letter for him as well as list of things that I wanted to experience in case I am about to be gone. Right now, I am stuck at the letter part and the bucket list is not going so well either as there was literally nothing to do here except for maybe killing too much demons."

"You cannot die in this mission, Rose." V said. "You still have a son waiting for you back home."

"I know, and trust me, I love being alive. But one must always a backup plan when things don't work out, especially when it involved the mission for the Death. I have already discussed with a friend about this possibility, and if in case I don't come back, he will know where I left my last words is. Didn't think it was necessary, but now I am glad I did that." Rose sighed. "Life is so unpredictable."

V looked through Rose shoulder when she was scribbling and scratching line, he could make out some lines from her scribble of something like taking a bungee jumping, joining an advanced cooking class, climbed on the Everest mountain, trying some very exotic dishes around the world.

_Getting married to someone I loved for once,_ Rose thought silently when her eyes caught at a demolished wedding shop with the tattered white dresses tainted by dirt lying around on the ground. Rose didn't put that thought on her notebook though, because that was even more impossible than her meeting Nero one last time.

V followed her eyes for one second before he took a breath and softly asked her:

"I never got the chance to ask, what is he like? The man who is fortunate enough to be your husband and the father of your child?"

"Oh no, I am not married, not to him or anyone." Rose paused when she tried to think of the words to dodge this. "He and I, we are complicated."

"I take that things between you and him is not well."

"Yes, we want the different things for our life and that is often the reason why couples didn't work out." Rose said. "But he gave me a son that I valued more than anything on this world, so yeah, I think we are kind of cool now."

V looked at Rose face when she talked about her son, how it just brighten up with so wondrous joy and happiness that made her even more beautiful than she already were.

"Sweet Joy I call thee:

Thou dost smile,

I sing the while;

Sweet joy befall thee!"

Rose smiled when V recited the poem from his book, she still couldn't understand exactly what that meant but she felt like it was something filled with happiness and cheerful. Like what she felt when Nero was put into her hand for the first time.

"You have no idea how wonderful it felt, V, to hold a child on your arm and saw the light just shine in its eyes." Rose said when she looked at reflection of herself in the shattered mirror. "It felt very precious V. They are so tiny and fragile and yet the same time so innocent and pure that it make you wanted to cry. Especially when it was your first born, emotions like tidal waves washed over your heart completely and made you wanted to cry out for happiness and grateful, to thank whoever above that had given yourself such a wonderful gift."

Rose looked back at V who was staring at her with his beautiful green eyes. Such a shame, Rose thought when she touched his cheeks lightly, he would never know or even understand that wonderful feeling. Rose missed a lot in her son's life but at least she had the joy to see their son first moment in life, to carve those special feeling deep with her heart and mind and keep them safe until the very last moment of her life.

"You have lost so much, V. But I hoped in the future when you became a part of that man, perhaps you could help him to gain more, for the sake for both of you."

Rose said when she caressed his cheeks, she hoped in the future when Vergil exist again he would learn to embrace his human heart because so far, casting all those feelings away do nothing good for him.

"He who respects the Infants faith. Triumphs over Hell and Death." V put his hand on her. "I will make sure he remembered it."

"I still don't understand what you say but it sounded like the spirit." Rose patted his shoulder. "Come on, I could feel some demon lurking nearby needed to killed. Last thing we want is that bird's beak screaming dirty things about us."

V grinned when he heard the sound of wings flapped over their head as he raised his arm for Griffon to land on it

"Oh jeez, I hope I don't interrupt you two lovey dovey. You know what, I don't care cause there is a bunch of demon needed to fry. Let's go Shakespeare."

Rose stepped out in another quiet corner, far enough so the fight could not affect her and the same time, still close by so she could help V when he needed help. So far, it seemed like these EUs seemed to quiet down a little bit. Rose could feel her magic and life force were healing back, although not as fast as she would like. But still, it should increase her chance of fulfilling this mission.

Rose looked at her hand, her wound still visible as a thin dark red line came across the palm like a red thread. Immortality never had been so fragile, Rose thought when she put her hand back into the pocket.

...

What would a normal couple do after they returned to their home?

Rose did not know that question since she had never engaged a normal relationship or shared a home with any one that she could even call remotely to the normal relationship.

But having sex right after her partner just killed a bunch of demons, as his body still covered in dirt and demons blood seemed not to be the right one.

"V, at least shower first."

V gave her a grin when he nodded, but right after that she felt herself being dragged right in the bathroom with V undressed himself.

"Well, let's shower then."

V said when he engulfed her with his kissed again as his hands started to unraveled on her clothes and soon, they were both in their birthday suit under the hot water raining down from the shower. Rose gasped lightly when she felt V hands grabbed her hips and turned her around so she was facing the walls while he was placing kissed on her neck and shoulder. His hand caressing her back along her spine as the other cupped her breast and massage it gently, the touch of his hands along with the hot water making her skin felt like burning with desire.

Rose slightly turned her head so she could look at him and gave him a shivering kiss as their tongue danced together. As she felt his hot burning member started to enter insider her, Rose could help but let out a giggle when she placed her hand on the yellow marble wall in front of her to keep herself well balance before his quickened pace.

As Rose bite down her lips to stop herself from let out a scream of her release, no, she did not in the mood of getting that bird picking on her again; she could hear V's deep grunted as he was releasing himself in her not long after hers. Rose sucked on her breath when she felt him pulled himself after her, she turned around and let her back slightly rest on the wall when she put her hands on shoulder.

V smiled at her when he claimed her lips again, one that was gentle but still filled with passion and care before he broke out, his hand ran back to his wet hair and making it slicking back. Rose heart slightly stopped for a beat when she saw this, for a splitting moment, she thought the man stood before was Vergil but not V. They looked nothing alike and yet, when he was just simply doing something like slicked his hair back, they were just like the same.

"Is there something wrong, my dear?"

V asked when he saw Rose froze at her spot, to which she quickly shrugged her shoulder when she stepped out of the shower:

"Yeah, I was just in deep thinking." Rose said. "I felt like we are escalating quite fast, faster than rocket. We met like for a few days and yet, here we are, having a shower sex."

"He who binds to himself a joy

Does the winged life destroy

But he who kisses the joy as it flies

Lives in eternity's sunrise."

V whispered when he kissed her forehead as he gently wrapped a towel around her naked body, his thumps slightly traced her lips:

"My beautiful Rose, you have no idea how much I cherish this little moment I have with you cause our time is not enough, it will never be enough for me. I could do nothing about that except enjoy every single moments I have without doubts and second thought, because Rose, we don't have _time_ for our moments to be ruined by such things."

V's voice slightly broke down when he held her so close to his chest. Rose could feel herself slightly swell up as she knew what he meant, no matter what this mission of her ended up, they would have to part away and never met again.

Even if they met again, V would not be V anymore and in Vergil mind, this would mean nothing to him as these memories were completely wiped away.

"I see. We are not normal people, not in the normal circumstances; normalcy is not applied for us." Rose said when she kissed him again. "Then let grab something to eat before we come to bed together and cuddle like two sappy old couple shall we? You could even read me some poem when I am thinking about what I should write in the letter for my son."

V nodded when he stroked on her wet lock, his heart slightly felt heavy when he remembered the look on Rose face. She didn't tell him the truth, V thought, the look on her face wasn't one in deep thought but the one that like she was seeing a ghost. And V had to say, she probably was seeing one as for the fleeting moment, he felt like Vergil again.

Even now, V didn't sure that he could call himself Vergil.

Sometimes, he felt like Vergil, as his memories and feeling to him could be as one.

But sometimes, he felt like he wasn't as seeing how the actions of the man in past were arrogant and filled with delusion about strength. Drown in his endless hunger for power, he threw away so many things, lost so much because of it and still were losing precious things that he just got back again.

"What happened? Is there something on my face?"

V saw Rose's big black eyes stared right back at him, he shook his head lightly when he put on small piece of food on his plate:

"No. I just happened to realize how beautiful you are."

"Smooth talking again and you could make me blush."

Rose smiled slyly at him when she punched his arm lightly, the corner of his mouth slightly raised when he tried his best to remember to this moment. Her smile, her voice, the way her nose slightly scrunch up when she joked with him or how her ebony hair shined under the sun light. He wanted to remember her like this, vivid and lively, not just blurring and destroyed images in Vergil broken memories after went through so many torture.

Or at least, remembered her as long as he could.

Notes: The poem that were recited by V are: "Auguries of Innocence", "Infant Joy" and "Eternity"; all by William Blake


	6. Chapter 6

"Okay, I think maybe I should keep it short and simple. You know, like the stuff 'I love you', 'I care about you' and 'You are in my heart forever'." Rose said when she scribbled lines down to her notebook. "I don't want to turn my last word into some sappy letter, not that I even have that ability in the first place."

"I think as long as they are the words from the bottom of your heart, it would mean the world for you son."

V said when he sat down on the rocky road right next to her to catch his breath. He just defeated an enormous demon that looked a giant spider with evil red eyes, which seemed to take quite a toll of him. Rose stopped from noting in her book to look at the demon slowly turned to dust as V took his breath heavily before she looked away. His body was deteriorating, with each demon he defeated or fought, the demonic energy that was keeping him intact would get weaker. It must have feel horrible, to feel his flesh to slowly rot and fall apart, to feel the Death slowly creeping its hand on his body and yet there was nothing to do about it except for desperately waiting for the right day and hoping to get back at the part he had lost for the action he had done.

Karma is a bitch.

Rose thought when she saw V stood up and slowly walked with his cane, this time, he actually needed to use it.

Vergil managed to do one thing that he always wanted to do; to cut out all of his human ties and yet when he did it, the existence named Vergil destroyed and his halves were born when both suffered great loss and pain from it.

For his human side would have to live of being weak and pathetic as exactly how he hated to be; then as a full demon with no human ties and ate the Qliphoth fruit, he still lost badly to his brother, whom embraced every single aspect of his human side. Both of his side, ironically, suffered and proved that his idea of living were a completely wrong.

Heck, even when he finally is himself again, he still lost to his son whom he cut his arm to gain more power.

How Rose wished she was there to rub in the middle of his face when Nero beat the crap out of him, but sadly, she couldn't.

Rose looked down to the notebook that was filled with messy scribble and scratched everywhere. If Nero couldn't have a decent father, he would at least have a decent mother despite she was missing on him his all life.

She don't need to be Great, or Wonderful.

But to be Good and Decent. Just be enough for her son.

Rose smiled when she started to write down the words in her head, the first time, she felt exactly what she needed to write when the pen moved on the paper:

"_Dear my son,_

_When you are reading this, then it mean I am already dead in the past. I am sorry that we could not meet for one last time, to say a proper goodbye face to face and to hug you again. But at least I could rest in peace, knowing that you know I love you so much and everything I have ever wanted is to be there for you._

_I have thought so much of what to tell you if these are my last words, if this is my final chance to give you advice and guidance in life, but nothing came out for the only thing I could ever think of is how much I love you._

_My child, I love you, I love you so much that saying it more a thousand times would not be able to describe it._

_As you have grown into such a fine young man without my guidance or help, one that so perfect in his own way that I could not find one thing to change about. So I will tell you one thing: don't change._

_Keep being a man with soft heart and caring out for people like you are, don't let anyone tell you caring for people is weak because god forbidden, it is not and will never be._

_Keep on believing in yourself and follow your heart, because it always knows what is wrong and right. _

_Keep on walking straight with head held high._

_And never, never for one second think that you don't have a family, that you are alone._

_Because you don't._

_P.S: Okay, I did think that you need to chill a little bit more and less cursing; but everyone have their own weak point, like me gushing too much on those handsome K-pop boy that made you embarrassing on the street the other day. And before I ruined this letter anymore; here is a piece of advice for you, my son, just take a deep breath._

_It will be okay._

_You will be okay._

_With all the love,_

_Your mother._

Rose tore her eyes from the note when she finished read it for V, who silently walked next to her. The sun was setting down in the horizon, orange and red lights covered the sky as the Qliphoth tree under the dim light seemed to be even more tremendous and eerier. This city looked like a ghost town even more than it already was in sunset, Rose thought when she looked at her silent companion; didn't help the creepy vibe that she was walking with a gothic tattooed guy.

"V, please say something cause right now, I felt like I am in a horror movie with you are about to cut me in pieces for some shady sacrificial. I meant okay, maybe my letter is bad but at least tell me where I got it wrong."

Unlike before, when her attempt to humor him or lighten up the mood no matter how bad it was, it always managed to at least make the corner of his mouth slightly raised. But now, V was just grimly walking next to her before he sighed:

"It is beautiful, Rose. I could not think anything better than the beautiful words you wrote for you son. He is a very lucky child to have a mother that loves him as much as you do."

Too beautiful, V thought when he looked at Rose, that it just sadden him greatly just to think about that this may be the end for her. And for a son, who never have the chance to meet again with his mother and have a goodbye with her.

"Rose, is it possible for me to retain my memories about you?" V asked when he looked at the shadowy of the Qliphoth tree.

"I don't think it is wise thought, V. You needed to forget to..."

"Keep the time and space intact, I understand. But what after that, what after the time when I became Vergil again? Can I remember again with my soul healed and my mind reset again?"

"I doubt it." Rose said. "It is a spell of the Death himself, if a mortal could come pass it then it wouldn't mean anything, isn't it?"

"But there is a chance, isn't it? That's why you didn't mention about the future too much, to make sure if something wrong with the spell then I wouldn't know much."

Rose slightly paused at this, it was true, she wasn't sure that the Death spell would work well on Vergil. After all, he was probably the first being split his soul, got it back into one again, while consumed on the Qliphoth fruit that made from First Creation of The Demon God himself. No one knew for sure, even Death if the spell of Death worked really well on him.

But again, Vergil only stayed on this world for a very short time before he ran straight to Hell again. Even if he managed to remember something about her, it must have taken time like months or even years. And so far as Rose could say, she was safe for this hence she dared to enter this relationship with V.

No mess, no drama, no consequence.

Just peace and a little bit of self-indulge.

"Yes, I supposed you can. But it would take quite some time for you to do that."

"And since you come from a near future, you didn't need to worry about alternating your time." V said when he saw Rose's brow raised. "I happened to see the posters shattered around about some things called 'K-pop' festival music laying around in the dust."

"Yeah, I know."

Vergil was a smart guy and so was V, as he was able to trick everyone around him not able to realize who he actually was. Rose, on the other hand, didn't try that hard to hide much about her time. She only tried hard to hide her son's identity, which was kind of easy considered she and Nero looked nothing alike or have the same personality. Unlike Sherlock here couldn't even see how much he resembled him.

Maybe he thought he was Dante's, which considered what she heard about the guy was kinda understandable. They were both loud and headstrong, loved using gun, something that Vergil himself despised.

Talking about that, when she talked to Lady, the armed beauty still seemed to be quite surprise that someone devoid of humanity like Vergil could ever enter a somewhat normal relationship with a mere human like Rose that time.

"So, I have a question and have been itching to ask about it. It is maybe a too personal for you but considered I shared a lot of personal things to you about myself, I thought that I could ask a little bit much about yourself?"

V motioned his head, a sign to show that he was willing to hear her out what she have to ask despite his hand gripped a little bit tighter on the cane:

"Tell me, if you despised human so much to the point you wanted to get rid of the human ties, why do you even getting close with me in the first place? I was still an ordinary human that time." Rose asked. "I get that you needed help to find your father power, but you could just stop there with us being partner. If I remember correctly, you were the one who put on the first move for us to be more."

"Yes, I did." V said quietly when he looked up to the sky. "I think up until now, I realize that I didn't really hate human, I just hated the human heart of me. For it made me feel so much that if I stopped shutting it down and let it take control, then I would burst and I was..."

_Scared._

V thought when he looked at Rose's black eyes staring straight at him, she nodded at him lightly when her fingers touched his hands on the cane lightly. It was a delicate touch, and yet, felt so strong and powerful that made his heart exploded with emotions.

V put a hand on his mouth to hold on a choke from escaping his mouth, all the feeling and emotions turned into waves washing in his body. He gripped hard on his cane to stand straight as he felt his body shaken with the shock as memories crashed down to his mind. There was so much of it; from the beginning where he was left alone in the playground to defend himself from demons to the years of struggling alone.

To when he met her and find the road for his father power before leaving her behind when he found the way; only to be fallen into Hell and right at Mundus palm. The torture and the pain, how his mind broken into pieces for his body to slowly transformed into an abomination before being able to break free but not after being defeated by his brother, again.

And then, he made the greatest mistake he had ever done; become the cause for the loss of lives of thousands of people, the destruction and pain that his action bought. He finally realized that he himself became the very thing that his father used his whole life to fight again.

A demon that did nothing but wrecked lives.

But then, meeting her again and all that lead to this.

_This very moment._

He felt a pair of small and warm arms wrapped around his waist when her head pressed slightly on his back, her voice soothing him when she whispered to him:

"It's okay, V, you will be okay. Just take deep breath, just breath."

V took in a deep breath when he shakily took out his book and read the blurry lines in it. He had remembered every single word in it, but he felt that reading it like this brought a sense of comfort to him. Like the way she did to him.

"_So when she speaks, the voice of Heaven I hear_

_So when we walk, nothing impure comes near;_

_Each field seems Eden, and each calm retreat;_

_Each village seems the haunt of holy feet."_

...

V looked at Rose back when she neatly folded the letter she had just very carefully written before put it on the metal box and put it under a hole in the stone floor that wasn't there for one second before. When she finished put the box in the hole, the floor looked like it was melted and quickly swallowed the box as whole before returned back to normal like there was nothing there.

"This will make sure it will be safe and sound until Maraka find it and give it my son."

Rose said in satisfaction when she dusted her hands, V nodded lightly at her when he sat on the bed before he said:

"You tell me a lot about yourselves, but not much about your son. May I know why?"

"Well, go on and on and on about your son with your current date isn't exactly the best thing to do, you know. I don't want to bore you out, anything really."

"Hmm, I don't think you are capable of being boring." V let out a sly smile at her. "No one could ever understand what is it in that head of your, or where it was going."

"Aren't we all?" Rose said. "No one could really know what exactly going on in one person mind, sometimes even themselves. I didn't even think that I would do this with you, whatever this is."

"Whatever this is?" V asked when he gloomed at her.

"Yes, V, maybe you didn't stay too long in human world and understand it very well but our relationship is weird. It had always been weird with Vergil, just got even weirder with you." Rose sighed when she let herself fall on the bed. "I mean I didn't really know what to call you, a fling, boyfriend, or lover? None of those sound right, maybe you have such a large vocabulary could find something for us."

"How's about soulmate?"

Rose eyes wide open when she heard voice as she sat right up with a speed of rocket, she immediately waved her hand when said:

"Wow, wow, wow, V, slow down. That's a big word, I mean I love spending time with you but..."

"Soulmate is someone with whom you share a close relationship and deep personal understanding." V said. "You know me well, Rose, and not just because you possessed knowledge from the future but because you _know_ me and I _know_ you. We know what torture meant, what it was like to lose yourself in pain and lost someone we hold dear too; we are both suffered so much. The difference is perhaps you manage to choose better than I do, but even so, you can always understand my choice no matter how much you hated it."

Rose had completely silent, this had gone out rail way real bad. When Rose took the first step into this, she just thought that she didn't want to be alone if she was going to die and be with a handsome man that enchanting to her was not a bad idea. But now, this confession, it just changed everything. Because now, she wanted to have the word _'them'_

She wanted to have a 'V' in her future, to see if they could be something more.

But that could not happen.

Not without her losing everything she just found.

"V, stop talking." Rose said when she put a finger on his lips. "Don't talk about us anymore. There will never be an 'us'. Not in the past and definitely not in the future."

"You are denying and scared, I understand it." V gave Rose a side glance when he stood up. "But don't go saying that our relationship meant nothing in the past, not when I just gave out my heart open to you."

Rose looked at the door closed down before her face, she looked at the empty bed when she buried her head between her knees.

So much for no mess, no drama, no consequence.

Rose took a deep breath when she felt her eyes slightly burning, she laid back flat on her bed when she put a hand over her eyes. She was doing the right thing, Rose thought, they would be nothing in the future as V would be disappeared and became a complete new man. Well, not that new to her but still, he won't be V anymore.

And Vergil won't remember a thing, even if he did, would he care enough?

That was the golden question, wasn't it? Rose thought bitterly when she remembered how cold his eyes looked when he left her, how swiftly he moved away from her like she was nothing.

Like the time they spend together was nothing.

Like there was never a 'they' in the beginning.

Strangely that time, she wasn't cry. She was rejected, heartbroken and numb with pain; and yet she couldn't cry at that time.

But now when those moments came back to her, Rose could feel tears were streaming down on to her face. Because she just realized, she was doing the exact same thing to V.

She hurt him, even though he just poured out his heart for her.

Even if V was willing to embrace his emotions more than Vergil, at the end of the day, he was still a part of Vergil. And Vergil was never the one who easily to admit feeling.

Rose opened her eyes when she stood from the bed and left her room. As a child, she was taught that each time she did wrong, she had to be brave and accept her mistake. Apologized and learnt from it as much as possible. So that what was what she doing now, accepted her mistake and apologized, Rose thought when she knocked on V door.

"You can come in, Rose."

Rose opened the handle when she saw V sat on the bed with the book on his hand, his eyes not bothered to look at her when he asked with perfect compose like nothing had happened:

"What's wrong, my dear, come to tell that I should erase all of that just happened and move on with my life as I would just forget everything?"

"Okay, you are mad, I understand." Rose said when she raised her hands at a sigh of defeated. "You have the right, and I am sorry for the things I said earlier. It was wrong, especially when you just sincerely called me your soulmate. I have many ways to chicken out but I just choose the worst way that is denying everything, I shouldn't do that, not when I know how much it stung."

V didn't said anything when his eyes continued to read the book, the tension was thick and Rose felt like this was her cue to leave V alone with his book:

"Okay, I got it, you wanted to be alone. I am out now."

Rose said when she turned her back, but then she felt a cane on her shoulder stop her from doing so as V somehow had already got up and grabbed his cane in such a short amount of time.

"You really don't get a lot of thing, do you?" V said when he slightly flicked her forehead with his finger. "For someone is so smart, why are you so dense at sometimes?"

"Umm, subtext isn't really my field, you know." Rose scratched her head. "So what do you want to say, again?"

V looked at her when he slightly lean his hands on his cane, his green eyes stared at her hauntingly when he shook his head:

"I am not sure anymore." V said when he slightly moved his head forward to look at her better. "But considered your apology accepted. And you are wrong."

"About what?"

"I wanted to be alone."

V said when he motioned his head to the bed. Rose nodded when she climbed onto it with him, her arms wrapped over his torso when she looked up to him when V took a deep sigh and stroke her hair gently. The feeling of this ghostly familiar rose in her chest when she snuggled deep into his embrace as V slightly patted her head, as his voice slipping into her ears and soothed her into her sleep:

"_Love seeketh not itself to please,_

_Nor for itself hath any care,_

_But for another gives its ease,_

_And builds a Heaven in Hell's despair.'_

_So sung a little Clod of Clay_

_Trodden with the cattle's feet,_

_But a Pebble of the brook_

_Warbled out these metres meet:_

'_Love seeketh only self to please,_

_To bind another to its delight,_

_Joys in another's loss of ease,_

_And builds a Hell in Heaven's despite"_

Rose wanted to asked him what did the poem meant but her tired mind had given up so instead she let her sleep took over her. She felt like it talked about love, but somewhat both positive and negative. Whatever it was, sure she could ask him tomorrow.

V looked at Rose breathing become a slow pace as she was completely fallen sleep before he lifted her arms up so he could get up from the bed. He stroked her cheeks gently to make sure she was completely asleep before he headed out of the house. The sound wings flapped in the air broke the quiet night when he raised his arm for the avian to land on:

"Well, well, pretty boy, leaving your sweet cheeks at home unattended and under you sleeping spell like that is dangerous, you know?"

"She had built a protection spell around the house, nothing could harm me in there. Or in this case, her." V said when he took a deep breath. "You prepared what I asked you yet?"

"Absolutely not, how could I help you sneak behind sweet cheeks back and do a dangerous spell that could harm the world?" The bird mocked at him. "All is done in the house at the end of this street. By the way you do know that if sweet cheeks knew what you are up to, she will slap you in the face and erase your mind immediately right?"

"I am aware of that possibility, that's why we should do this discreet and silent, not making a ruckus so the whole street could hear us."

V stopped at his feet when he saw the house, like the rest of the residence of this street, the house was uncorrupted and the only thing unpleasant about it was a thin layer of dust flow into his nose when V entered it. V looked around before he entered the backyard, Griffon had already throwing the necessary object around along with an Empusa, tied up in a rope that glowing in yellow light.

"It was not easy to drag that thing in here, even with the rope that sweet cheeks gave you." The bird said. "Again, V, I am not your typical moral compass or even know what human moral was, but shouldn't it be wrong to use somebody's gift and did a ritual behind that same person back, knowing it was again everything she fought for the whole time."

"If we are careful, then nothing would have gone wrong."

V said when he was arranging the animal skull and candles to create a circle around the thrashing Empusa in the middle of it. Rose wasn't the only one with knowledge about magic, V shoot the creature a look before he continued his work. Vergil himself had spent a lot of time traveling around and learning things about it. Although it did not spark much interest in the man as much as his father power, Vergil himself did study some decent amount of it included the ritual of summoning an entity that could bring back his memory or in this case, allowed him to keep it.

As the circle completed, V tapped his cane on the ground as he chanted, the candles around him lit up as the flame burst into a purple color:

"Lord of the Forgotten, I am calling you out for you to feast on the life that I offered in exchange for my memory will not be eaten away by you. Let them be locked away but never be erased, let it only be gone because of my own will."

V gritted his teeth in the last past when he stabbed his cane in the head of the Empusa. As demon let out a scream before it died, he could felt a cold wind blew behind his neck as something stood there. V turned around to see Rose, staring right at him with her black eyes.

"You are not Rose."

V said when he saw how those eyes are void and lacked of emotions, she would never be like that. Whatever the thing stood before him, it was only carrying her face or more likely, masking its existence by his memory of her:

"Only seemed fitting enough to use this skin when she is the reason why you called me in the first place." The entity said when it looked at the crumbling demon on the ground. "It had been quite a long time since anyone used a demon to be my offering. Granted, it was a low level one but still, normally it was human."

"Will you take it and make the deal official?" V asked when he saw the demon even died, its body still remained.

"Hmm, it's not a bad deal for me so I will take it." The entity hummed. "Your memories will not be erased but instead locked deep inside your mind to keep it from destroying time and space. And since you made your offering special, I could give you a small warning. When a memory being buried that deep inside your mind, being destroyed or locked away won't be much different."

"As long as I could keep it, then it should be fine."

The entity who wore Rose face smirked at him, a smirk irked him to no end because the way it etched on Rose face so wrongly as it touched its finger on his forehead:

"Sometimes little boy, forgetting could be a good thing."

V looked at the empty space before him when he gripped on his cane, perhaps it was right. There were many things he wanted to forget; his torture under Mundus, the time of his being Nelo Angelo or how desperate and painful he was when he split his body. But he couldn't forget about it, no matter how much he wanted to. And yet, the beautiful memories when he was with Rose like this just washed out like mud in the rain making V's blood just boiled up with anger.

The same anger that ran in his mind when Mundus control of his thoughts and action, to be just like a puppet that dance in a beat that its master controlled it to do. He would not have that again, to have his mind to be controlled and twisted again.

"V."

Rose murmured when she felt a pair of hand slowly crept on her body when she fluttered her eyes. Soft lips pressed on her own when she woke up from her slumber as she felt herself being stripped naked.

"You seemed different, V?" Rose asked when she stroke his hair as his lips traced on her neck and shoulder. "Is everything okay?"

"I wanted to remember you, every single drop of you." V said when his kissed trailed down to her chest. "You skin, your hair, your scent. I wanted to remember it all and keep it close to me forever."

Rose didn't say anything when she sighed. There was no point of saying anything really, not without hurting them both. So she just kissed him back and let their bodies joined in the heated moments again. As they finished their coupling, the sun had begun to rise in the horizon with orange and pink lights started to dye the sky. Rose popped herself on her elbow when she looked out of the window:

"You know, I never have the chance to welcome the dawn with anyone. I have always been a deep sleeper before and there wasn't a sun in the Trap. You are the first one I do this with."

And many things else, Rose sighed when she felt V hands caressed her bare back. She felt a strand of her hair being tugged behind her ears when V whispered to her ears:

"You are my first too."

Rose smiled when she kissed on his lips before she get out of bed as in the corner of her eyes she could see that blue shadow flapped his wing around the window.

"Well, I guessed it's my cue to leave." Rose said when she saw the bird just hanging around the window. "Today I have to check out to see if the Quliphoth is still fine so it's better to take you with me. Is that okay to you?"

"I don't have any other plan."

V replied when Rose nodded her head and picked her clothes up before left for her room. V let out a sigh when he opened the window for the bird to come in:

"Well, V, I didn't know you got it in you? Tricked her in the back and then slept with her right after that, you are quite a sly one, aren't you?"

"Quiet, Griffon." V said when put on his clothes. "You finished cleaning all the evidence yet?"

"Everything is squeaky clean, not a soul could find out about it."

"It should be."

V said when he stepped out of the room, the sound of the water running and Rose's small humming could be heard when he passed her room. V should feel sorry about what he did, lying and tricking her like this when all she ever did was helping him and yet he didn't.

Not a single bit.

Of course, there was a certain chill ran in his back when he thought about the chance of her finding out about what he did. But even if that scenario happened, if Rose turned her back to him because of it, he still did it again.

He was a sinner, and he deserved punishment but at the same time, he will not just stand there helpless and watched his mind being played and erased like a toy again. These precious memories of him will be his only.

His to hold, to protect and to treasure.

And he would not allow anyone, not even God could take it away from him.

But when V felt Rose leaned close to him and kissed him in the cheek before she ate her breakfast, his heart slightly twisted around as the small affection.

_If I could remember again, I will find you again._

_Even if I had to go to hell and heaven, I must meet with you again._

Notes: The poems in this are: "Fresh from the duewy hill" and "The Clod and the Pebble" by William Blake


	7. Chapter 7

V blinked his eyes when he looked around him, as the golden dust faded away his face slightly changed when he realized the scene around him:

"This is my old home."

V said when he saw the ruined play ground with a house not far from there, as the Quliphoth small fruit dangling on the crimson branch.

"More likely an illusion created based on a memory that strongly affected the person whom raised the Tree." Rose said when she flicked at the tiny fruit that was dripping blood.

"Unparalleled power my ass, even if you ate this fruit, you still got your ass wiped twice in the same day."

Rose let out a small chuckle when she heard V slightly winced behind her back, it was a little bit mean to do that but she couldn't help it. It was fun to bully him a little bit, especially when he ripped out her son arm just to gain his stupid power.

"Don't worry, you are still alive after that. Just got beaten, twice in a day." Rose said when she checked around. "Did I mention the part twice a day?"

"I get your point. My quest for power is meaningless because I still lost even after everything I had done."

"The word 'fruitless' would be more fun in this case." Rose said when she looked at V face. "Sorry, couldn't help to be mean for you. I just want to remind you, that feeling you are feeling right now, it was not good. But compare to what your action made other people feel; whether if it was me, your brother, Nero and thousands of other people, it was nothing. You caused a lot of pain and wreck, and maybe you didn't mean for it to become like that but still, the damage is done. And yet, you have a good end, a better end than I would probably have so you needed to know, how fortunate you are. And perhaps in the future, you could make a better judgment than this."

Rose said when she pointed at the fruit, V's eyes bored at it. This was power, the true and brute power that he had spent his entire life and throwing everything else to get it. And yet like Rose said, even when he gained it he was still defeated, not once but many times. All of his actions, all of his choice were meaningless and futile.

He was offered so many chances, so many hands, whether if it was his brother hands or hers, and yet he still turned them away and blindly continued to his path. He believed by taking their hands and came to their way, he would become weak and yet the road he took lead him straight to this moment: pathetic and weaker than both of them.

"It's looked okay now, all fine and dandy for the next couple weeks to be harvest." Rose said when she checked around, smashing a few EUs she could find her way. "Maybe this whole thing would be a success after all."

Rose dusted her hand when she finished checking around. Despite saying that, Rose still found an uneasy feeling blooming inside her heart as she still have no idea where that egg was or what it was up to. Yes, it was an egg, but an egg from the outer universe that proved to be quite smart and learning from it mistake fast. So far there was still no noise from it, so it was probably got tricked or brewing something else.

She dared to bet on V's life it was the second option.

Not to mention, god know if it was still an egg or not.

"Have you felt like it was quiet? Like too quiet? The quiet before the storm."

Rose tapped her fingers on her knee when the demon let out a loud roar as V stabbed his cane in the middle of its head. It had been a couple of days, she had wandered around the city and checking everything else and yet nothing was out of the ordinary, even at the Qliphoth. And it drove her crazy, knowing something drastic should happen any moment and yet nothing came out. It was like sitting on a bomb, but had no idea when it go off or how to even see it in the first place.

"You seemed to be nervous." V said when he came to sit down next to her.

"I am nervous, V. So far, the egg is still gone missing while the EUs had covered the whole Qliphoth tree. If I failed this mission, I don't even want to think about the consequence. Everything I know of, everything I love will be gone and destroyed just like that." Rose said when gripped her hands together so hard the knuckle turned white. "And I just come back to life V, I don't want to die just yet."

"I know, I understand your feeling." V said when he put his hands on her. "Believe me, my dear, I do."

Rose took a deep breath as the calloused of the fabric of V's gloves caressed her hands and his warmth again it, it actually felt really calming when he did this. How's strange that despite their time spent doing the adulterous thing that could make porn stars blush, it was these small touch like this making her heart fluttered for him more. Like when he patted her head before she fell into sleep or when he stuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ears. Moments like this, made her realized how much she loved him.

A part of Rose thought that when she engaged the passionate actions of lust when she was with V; she hoped she could use those lust to erase all those trace of the gentleness and sincerity that she thought she once saw in Vergil when she was with him, the same traces that made her heart never seemed to forget him. To make sure that the things she saw back then was nothing but an illusion of her young mind so she could finally move on.

But here she was, sitting with his human half, seeing the part of him that made her loving him so much again. Nothing going with what she planned it to be, whether if it was just a simple fling with a man she was attracted to or to forget a man she had loved for so long.

"I am sucked at planning. Look at my plan, it is full of holes." Rose exclaimed when she rested her chin on her hand. "I am more like the girl who gone with the swing, hitting whatever coming in her way with whatever she got. Why would I ever think that I can pull this through?"

"Dante is more like you in that field, but he still saved the world many times." V said when he patted her shoulder. "If he could do it, so can you."

"Yeah, but the guy is luckier than me a lot. I mean, he was unconscious for more than a month and surrounded by demons and yet, he is still alive. Had it been me, I will be definitely be mauled apart."

"Dante is alive?"

"Yes, he is..."

Rose paused when her eyes widened as she sucked a deep breath.

"FUCK."

Rose cursed out when she grabbed V by the hand and ran like there was fire on her butt. Neither Nero nor Nico knew exactly Dante were knocked down in this whole month, she could only guess that V found him when he was looking for the Sparda, the Devil Arm. It was probably one of the only few places that she did not knew where exactly and that egg, that damn egg must have found out about it when it was attacking her mind.

And the moment it found out about it, it must have done something to her mind to prevent her from noticing Dante was still alive in here as well. If it wasn't for V mentioning Dante to her first, she would have never remembered him.

So that was the place it was hiding, and probably putting a very nice barrier to shield it from her when she wandered around finding it. It would be easy though, as both the Sparda and the Qliphoth had already shielded Dante from being sensed and attacked, the egg would need a little bit more work for her to not sense it too.

Hiding under a shield and created another shield underneath it, she could not do any better than that.

"Hey V, quick question, you can sense the Devil Sword Sparda right?"

Rose said when they stopped near the Qliphoth, from what Nero told her, Dante was probably resting near here in this perimeter. Hopefully, she was not too late.

"Yes, but in this form I needed to get close to it enough and..."

"Yeah, yeah, that's good enough for me. You just needed to be able sense it, the distance I could handle it. Here, just focused on it."

Rose said when she came close to V, her hands put onto his head when she took deep breath as the golden light emitted from her hand to his forehead. V sucked a breath when he felt the light went into his body, his eyes opened wide when Rose let her hand go.

"So, you found it yet?" Rose asked.

"Yes." V said.

"Good, Dante will not be far from it." Rose said when she sighed. "Hopefully, he won't have any new accessory when we got there."

V gave Rose a glance when he nodded to lead there. They soon encountered a pack of the Nobodies dancing in the name Sparda under the giant sword that was just hanging on the Qliphoth roots. The blue bird had already gone in the air and scanned the area as they arrived here, all they have to do was waited for it.

"Later V, you will have your chance with it." Rose said when she noticed V's eyes bored into his father sword. "Dante is our first priority. He is the crucial key if you wanted to merge with Urizen again."

V gave her a side glance when he stood in the shadow with her. They didn't have to wait long before Griffon flapped it wing right above them.

"Well, that lucky bastard is surely alive and well, sleeping soundly like princess waiting for the prince charming." Griffon let out a loud quack when it landed before them. "Nothing attached to him, as I could see."

"That sounded like a promising start."

Rose said as they followed the Griffon to the place Dante was, which was an enormous hole in the ground with all the thorny vines and Dante was sitting in something looked like a somewhat comfy chair.

"Okay, let's see what are you doing?"

Rose said when she slide downed the hole to get near Dante. But before she could take another step, Rose felt like a hammer smashing into her head as something like an invisible wave throwing her back.

"Shit."

Rose curse when she held her head that was blasted into half, her skull and brain was scattered around the ground. Through her remaining intact eye, she could see hundreds of small spider was crawling under Dante's seat with their glowing red eyes like small dots crawling at her way.

"V, get out of here."

Rose screamed out as much as she could with her vocal cords being damaged. But V just looked at her in completely bewilderment, before he blinked and jumped right next to her. Rose opened her mouth to say something when she felt her head come back to normal but when she saw V' eyes, she knew he won't stay away from this.

"Come here, eat the taste of my lightning." Griffon screamed out as pillar of lightning stroke at the spiders. "How do you like getting roasted huh? Cause I am roasting all of you."

"Fine, have it your way."

Rose sighed when a fire sphere conjured from her hand and burnt the spiders around them. There was so many of them, Rose thought when she could see the tiny spiders like flood kept coming at them, so the egg was really here. Rose had a several ideas to destroy it completely, but it was too dangerous to use it in here with Dante and V in here.

"V, covered me."

Rose said when she ran straight at the source of flood of spider, her skin crawling when she felt the lightning of Griffon hitting right next to her as the smell of burnt meat overwhelming her sense. So much for Kyrie's BBQ at the weekend, Rose thought when a fire bird came out from her hand and engulfed Dante, effectively burnt all the spiders near it.

"Shoot, Sparda bloodline was really magic fire-proof like grandma said." Rose said when she grabbed the sleeping man from his chair and hauled him on her shoulder. "Okay, sleeping beauty, I have to borrow your spot a little bit."

Rose looked underneath from the place where Dante was sitting; there was an egg next to it, glowing with evil and malice red light as she could remember from her first time. But this egg, it was weaker when she was remembered. This one could only managed attack her once before gave in.

For something that could mess with mind of an immortal like her, that should not be just it.

"What the hell?"

Rose grabbed the egg by her hand, the red light glowing more brightly at white smoke flew from her hand. Felt like the time she touched at the hot surface of the iron and got her hand burnt badly, but this time, she could feel her life force being burnt away as she was holding it. Rose squeezed hard on the egg and turned it into dust as a black smoke absorbed into her mouth.

"Hmm, interesting." Rose said when she hummed when the information in the egg went into her mind.

"Hey babe." Rose turned her head around when she heard a rugged voice coming out from behind. "Normally I love a proactive woman, I still do but I prefer to get to know your name first before you stroke my butt like a stroking a cat like that."

"Shit."

Rose immediately shrugged the man of her shoulder as a deep grumble coming from him when he landed on the ground. In the moment of her deep thinking, she must have not paid in mind where she was carrying a man and where she was touching.

"Babe, that is cold you know, touching me like that and then threw me immediately."

The man in red stretched when he got up from the ground, Rose sucked a deep breath when she saw V looked at Dante weirdly. Okay, this had gone from bad to worse, this was not supposed to happened. Dante wasn't supposed to wake up in a few couple more weeks.

"How long was I out?"

"About two week."

Rose said when looked around, maybe if she could just smashed his head with a magic brick or something like that, he could pass out and came back to a sleeping beauty for the next few weeks like he should be.

"No wonder I am so stiff." Dante said when he took out his sword. "Well, it was time to for another round with Urizen."

_No, no, no, no._

Rose screamed internally when she saw Dante processed to walk toward the tree, right now she did not have enough power to fight head on with a son of the Sparda and stopped him from distorting the timeline. And yet she couldn't tell him the truth because unlike V, Dante had no idea who she was and there would no way any sane person would believe some stranger telling him that they were from the future.

But still, she needed to stall some time.

"Look, maybe you should sit back and stay down a little bit, you know just a bit. After all, you have been out for like weeks, you should rest, you know. Regain your strength and power, and all those stuff and..."

"Babe, you are pretty and you are sure not human or demon." Dante said when he pointed the big ass gun at her face. "To be honest, I don't care whatever you are but stay out of my way. I needed to handle this as fast as I could. The longer I wait, the stronger that Devil gained power and lives will be lost."

"Okay, this may sound crazy but I am..."

"Rose, allow me."

V put a hand in her shoulder when he walked closer to Dante, as he whispered something barely audible to her human ear but was obviously enough for the demon ear as the man in red to get his eyes widen and followed V. They walked to a distance and seemingly talked, well, kind of until Dante punched V in the face which made the skinny man almost fall flat on the ground if it wasn't for his cane.

"Okay, okay, everyone, let's be cool and calm." Rose said when she ran to them, did not take to be a genius to know what V said to him. It was probably the truth about his origin anyway "You two will have plenty of time to fight in the future but right now, Dante, please go back to your sleep and..."

Rose suddenly went completely quiet when she turned back, the hair on her neck stood up as she could feel waves and waves of energy hitting at her.

"You have got to be kidding me." Rose said when she felt the ground slightly shaken.

"The Qliphoth fruit, it' ready." V said in surprise.

"No, no, no, it's definitely not ready." Rose said when she felt the Earth trembled underneath her feet. "This is not real, nothing about this is real. This is just an Illusion, a trick that damn Egg use. Change of plan Dante, how bad do you wanted to beat the crap out of the demon half of your brother?"

"As much as you would." Dante said with his brow raised at her. "What do you propose?"

"Let's make a deal then. I let you borrow my life force and power, in exchange, you have to beat up Urizen for me. Remember, just beat up not kill. That's privilege can only be done when the time right Nero arrived here."

"And what if I say no?"

"I don't know if V talked to the part where, I don't know, THE STREAM OF THE FUCKING TIME ITSELF AND THE FUCKING WORLD IS IN DANGER, YOU IGNORANT MORON." Rose screamed at him. "TAKE. THE. DAMN. DEAL."

"Fine, fine, I get it." Dante waved half-heartedly when he gave her his hands. "Alright, let's do this."

"About the time."

Rose said when she grabbed his hand. A golden light ran from her heart go straight to Dante heart, his eyes flashed with golden light before a hug waves of energy blasted through the area.

"Ouch."

Rose grunted when she felt the energy hitting at her face, as expecting from the Legendary Demon Hunter Dante, he had already unlocked enough power even when he only consumed in her bit of her life force. Rose blinked when she saw the enormous creature before her with red scale and wings spread out as the golden light and red veins fused together, glowing in the dark.

"Remember our deal, son of Sparda." Rose said. "No one die today."

Dante gave her a toothy grin showed his shark like teeth when he took the Sparda Sword and flew away, leaving a cold gust of wind blew into her face.

"If it wasn't the Qliphoth fruit, then what was it?" V asked.

"Hmm, the egg's Illusion, a trick that able to fool everyone in here. And I don't think it can be called egg anymore as it had hatched, probably right after the first time I met it and grow enough to lay another egg, whether it was to leave a descendant behind or to distract me, again. Did not need to try that hard when you are around." Rose said when she scratched her head. "This is bad. My head is still not clear from the last blown, I cannot think straight. But I can do this."

Rose suddenly turned around and punched V in the gut, her hand grabbed his collar and smashed him down the ground. Rose nails digged deep into his skin behind his neck when she sat on him and choked him, the mark of his body faded away and his hair turned into white.

"Don't think about summoning those familiar of yours, they are unavailable now." Rose said when she squeezed harder around V neck, she see the disbelief and shock in V eyes when he stared at her as he was gasping for air. "Don't look so surprise princess, I have wanted to do this for some time now. Your brother has no idea I just sent him to the Death. The power he had, it is fake and the moment he face Urizen, he will be squashed like a bug and I make sure, this time there was nothing could hide him from being eating away like junk food. This mission had already failed, and you know what, fuck it. Fuck you, fuck the world, fuck everything. At least I get to kill you and the only leaving family you have in one day, all by my hand. So die, V, die and go to the hell hole you fucking demon crawled from."

Rose gritted through her teeth as she squeezed harder, hate and anger flooded in her eyes as V weakly scratched her hand to break free. His eyes slowly rolled back as the air in his lungs burnt out, he let out a choked plead:

"Rose,...Rose..."

"Don't even bother, V."

Rose said when she kept her firm grasp on his neck. As V felt his life was slowly faded away, images of his life flashed through eyes. It was a sad life, a life that strive nothing for power and strength, discarded everything around him only to be ended by the woman he had once thrown away for his goal. And yet, when he saw her smile at him in the memory, he still couldn't believe it.

Rose had every reason to hate and kill him like this, and yet, he still couldn't believe that she was capable of killing him.

V didn't know if he should consider himself to be a fool for not see what was happening or just too blind to see Rose had completely changed from the one he knew.

Suddenly, he felt something burst out from his throat as the grasp on his neck loosen up. V opened up his eyes to see something that looked like spider legs sprout out of his mouth, then a the glowing purple eyes along with head that was too big to even in his mouth in the beginning and the whole body coming through. Seeing such sight caused V wanted to vomit, if his mouth wasn't so full of that spider.

It felt so long when to see the spider crawled out of his mouth, but in fact it was just a split of second before Rose grabbed it and smashed it in the ground.

"Oh god, that was gross."

Rose shook when she saw the dead spider on the ground. But then she felt herself being pushed roughly on the ground as a black feline growled at her fiercely and when the blue bird flapped his wing over her head:

"Stay where you are."

For the first time, Rose heard the voice of the bird so serious and deadly like that. Good for him, Rose shrugged when she get off the ground, finally knew how stinky this situation was.

"Sorry, can't do that, I have a job to do."

Rose said when she looked at the Qliphoth before she snapped her fingers to teleport into it. So far, the egg had been able to move and play her like a toy for so long that Rose thought either she must have turned into a bigger moron after escaping the Trap or there was something stinky about that. She have thought a lot about it, and it just wrecked her mind why the hell she couldn't find a single clue of the egg even using all her trick along with the help of the Qliphoth.

But now turned out, she had been bugged, like literally from day one in here. V must have been attached by those EUs before he even met her. Not the usual one where it just sucked the life of the host but a different type where it just stayed dormant in his body and showing no sign outside, only gathering intel and transmitted back to the boss. The only way she could get it out safely was to tricking it that she was going to kill V and hence, the villainy act.

To be honest, Rose thought she deserved an Oscar for that performance of her.

"Damn it. There were soldiers, general and now spies, I felt like I was hitting an army all by myself."

Rose said when she walked to the place where Dante was fighting with Urizen, and as expected winning when there was this bloody fruit just dangling before them. Rose look around when she saw the same image she saw before, blue sky with crumbling play- ground and a mansion not far from behind.

"The fruit is mine."

"Yeah, not gonna happen."

Rose said when she grabbed the fruit and ripped it away. Dante stabbed Urizen in the stomach when the demon started to thrash to reach to her:

"You weakly mortal..."

"Shut up."

Rose said when she threw her golden rope at him and effectively wrapped it around his body, in this weaken state of him, that should be able to keep him down. Dante had returned to his human form when he put his sword onto his shoulder and walked onto the demon enormous chest:

"Dante, remember our deal." Rose warned when she looked at him. "You can finish your job later, but don't go ruining the world because you can't handle some sibling rivalry."

Dante clicked his tongue when he jumped down from Urizen, the rope had wrapped around his mouth to make sure he didn't jabbering any ridiculous words when Rose stared intensely at the fruit.

"Hey babe, you know we just met but I kind of like you. So it would be a shame that I have to kill you too when you ate that?"

"First of all, I am not interesting in a fruit made by blood of thousands of my own kind. And this is not what you think it was"

Rose said when she squeezed her hand tightly and when she opened it, a silver spider with golden eyes shining on her hand was tapping its feet on her palm. As the spider jumped from her hand and ran away, the surrounding them started to cracking up like glass to revealing what was really inside.

"Those are what you called EUs?"

Dante said when he saw the red smoke flowing around as the reddish tree that stained with human blood and scent. But that was not the part Rose worried about, they were surrounded by pack and pack of gray spiders with shining red eyes dangling on the silver web that covered almost every single corner.

Rose looked at the giant spider that dropped down from the above to right before her face. It had the upper body of a woman human. A beautiful one in fact, with fiery red hair and blue eyes and ivory skin and supple breast. From the waist down, it was a red spider with eight legs as big and sharp as swords, with the glistening cuticle that looked like Jade when the light shone through. Rose looked at the body of the spider woman, it looked perfect from every single corner from the anatomy of both human and spider. It seemed that in the process of adapting the world, this creature had learnt to take a decent shape of the inhabitant of this world. She reminded her of someone Rose knew in her past, her perverted friend, Variet.

"You liked my body?" The woman asked seductively.

"Yes, it is very beautiful." Rose said when she took a step closer. "May I check a little closer?"

"Only if you do the same for me." The woman said when she waved her finger at her clothes. "Fair trade, don't you think? I did not have anything to cover me and so should you."

Rose felt the corner of her mouth raise up when she took off her jacket and button down her shirt. Dante let out a wolf whistle when he saw Rose stripped down her pants, damn, he didn't expect this gone from beating his brother to see to half naked hot chicks flirting to each other real fast.

"Just laid back and enjoyed the view Dante."

Rose said when she winked at him as now she was only wearing in her lingerie before she continued to examine the woman.

"You know, after all this time we are fighting, I still don't know you name?" Rose asked when she looked at the shiny red legs, the color matched perfectly with human blood that was pumping in the Qliphoth. "I know you are a Queen, but Queen of what?"

"The name of my species is impossible for your vocal cord to handle." The Queen said. "You could call me the Queen of the Carassion, the Evolutionist."

"I could understand the reason behind that name." Rose said. "Your species have an impressive power of learning and adapting to the new environment. I mean look at you, you only stayed in my head for a few couple seconds and you were able to design a wholesome plan to divert me from finding you for days. I must say bravo, if only you were willing to sacrificed more than just a laid egg, I may never found you."

"My egg was never meant for you to find." The woman chuckled when she crouched down so close to Rose at the point her nose nearly touched her. "It was meant to be hatched and be a new generation of Queen."

"Oh dear, now that's just sad, isn't it? Bugs can only one Queen at a time." Rose's eyes widened when a smile plastered on her face. "Despite learning so fast and adapting so quickly, you cannot fight back the most crucial thing in world, your life span. It was short, like really short even compare to human. But it was probably why you can learn thing in our way so fast, you have to or else you would die before you could pull of anything. Oh, and I bet the new world, new time is messing with you system real bad and you cannot reproduce just yet. And you need time to adjust, but you have none of that, didn't you?"

The Queen had gone completely silent when it gave her a crocked smile as the spider around her start to clicking violently. This was quite familiar, Rose thought when she felt the giant leg of the Queen stabbed right through her heart, she got this one like this when she was dealing with Variet.

The heart in Rose chest glowed as the veins on her body burnt through like lava, her hands grabbed firmly at the legs that stabbed through her before it was exploded into bits. Rose gritted her teeth when a muted form a beast surrounded her as spider's string shoot out like silver string but as sharp as knife when she felt it cut through her skin.

"Just protect your brother, Dante." Rose said when Dante began to shooting at the spiders surrounded them. "Let's the girls handle their things."

It was personal, after all, she did kill her only child. It was only fair for the woman wanted to set things between them. Rose charged at the Queen when the shadow beast came back to her hand and became a black sword when she swung at the Queen.

The Queen quickly blocked it with her claws with her claw glow in silver before she flung her out and shoot another silver web at her. The muted beast quickly shielded it for her, but the Queen blasted it through as her hands shot out a fire ball. Shouldn't be surprise Rose any more the she had learnt her magic for few split seconds in her head, after all, the Queen was smart.

Rose felt herself being blasted back again when a fiery bird hitting at her, she winced slightly as the shield conjured by her was no longer good enough to protect herself as the energy blast burnt on her skin. Rose choked out when she felt the burnt on her skin wasn't healing and her muscle froze:

"I wouldn't choose the word 'Evolution' if I was just a copier."

The Queen smirked at her when her swords like legs stabbed on Rose chest and limps. Rose let out a scream as the Queen legs glowing in red when her meat let out a sizzling sound like a turkey in the oven.

"Come a little bit closer, and I will tear her into parts." The Queen said when the red clad Demon Hunter moved closer to them. "I don't think at this state, she could heal from that."

"Yeah, The Queen is right, Dante. You should probably continue to fend for your brother by the way, I got this handle."

Dante turned back when he saw several spiders crawling on Urizen bodies while smashing at them.

"Please, do tell, how do you handle this?" The Queen said in a mocking tone. "You have no power to fight me back or even escape. My soldiers have this place surrounded and that Demon could not take their eyes of his brother. What else could you do beside whimpered at my mercy and awaited for your painful death?"

"Yeah, in our world there was this saying 'make one step back to make two steps ahead' and you should really learn from it." Rose let out a chuckle when she coughed lightly. "Evolution sometimes needed to be step down a little bit before it get, you know, evolve."

The Queen's face slightly scrunched up in confusion, but not for long before she felt a black hole underneath her feet. The Queen let out a loud screeched when she felt herself being sucked off in the black hole, along with every single spider on the ground.

"Darling, you are smart but you forgot that you are one man army again the entire world." Rose said when she stood up, the wounds on her body slowly healing back when the black hole closed up. "I have help, you don't."

Rose said when she looked up as the Qliphoth shaken around her. The Tree was created by the First Born and had the power to connect both the demon world and human world, of course it would have the power to open a worm hole and banished the creature didn't belong here in the first place. All it needed was some guidance and time to concentrate, and Rose was gladly to give it both of it. This was her plan B, after the 'mosquito net' plan. The reason she didn't use this plan in the first place because she didn't know where the Queen was for the Qliphoth can actually open a black hole for her. But when the Queen made a mistake and reveal herself a tad bit too soon, Rose knew she must jump this plan immediately.

Rose looked around and let out a groan, great, her clothes had been completely destroyed in the fight.

"Well, you know I could kill her and all those spiders easily without you being stabbed and all those stuffs." Dante said when he gave her his jacket to cover herself. "Why do you tell me to stay back in the first place?"

"Because if I was an intelligent and vengeful mother that got her only child killed by a creature from different world, I would want to burn it down to the crisp if I think I was going to lose and not having a single chance of killing my enemy myself." Rose said when she looked up on the ceiling. "You know what, actually I would leave behind a giant bomb in the place where the barrier of both the Demon and the Human world was weakest so when I got the chance, I will blow it up and make both worlds crumble before the endless void."

Dante looked up to see a red crystal in the heart shape blinking its red light at them. He pulled out his sword and about to strike it down when Rose put her hand up:

"Wow, wow, wow, easy cow boy, we do not handle things by violent in here. This thing needed some delicacy, you know, brain and wits and calm. But first, let me handle that hate child of a tree trunk and an octopus first"

Rose put her hand on the ground when her hand glowing slightly, the ground shaking violently as the Qliphoth roots wrapped around Urizen and pulled him somewhere else.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say you just command the Qliphoth Tree to get my stinky ass brother back to safety."

"I didn't command it, I talk to it." Rose said when she stood up. "We have the same origin, the same goal for keeping the worlds from being destroyed. Now, what the hell did the Queen do with an Atlantis crystal in here? And why did she even get her hands at it the first place? "

"You know the more you talk, the less you make any sense." Dante said when he looked her up and down. "What are you, exactly?"

"Go ask V, I explained to him one time." Rose suddenly smacked at her forehead. "Shit, I forgot about him. The Queen and the Atlantis Crystal completely had taken my mind off, and..."

Rose paused when she suddenly felt very light head and dizzy before her whole body shut down. Right, she forgot about this too, her life force had been burning up too much that her body had already touched it limit and gave up completely.

"_Let's hope those two will not kill each other."_


	8. Chapter 8

When Rose gained conscious again, she let out a groan when she felt her whole body just aching everywhere. She looked around to see V was sleeping on a chair with his book on the lap, his brow slightly knitted when he took a sharp breath. Rose eyes trailed down to his bruising neck and torso, yeah, she hit him a little bit too hard on that.

So as quiet as she could, Rose got out from the bed and walked near V when her finger slightly touched his skin.

"Sleep well, V."

Rose whispered when a spark of light went from her finger to his neck, the wounds on his body quickly disappear when V let out a sigh of relief in his dream. Rose looked at her body and face once she was in the bathroom, seemed like she played it real bad this time. There were bruises everywhere, along with the reddish mark of burnt skin still not healing yet and the cuts that seriously needed some cleaning. Rose opened the water when she stripped down her clothes, which was just an undergarment when she winced lightly as the hot water washed over her opened wound.

"Keep calm and hang in there." Rose whispered when she closed her eyes. "Keep calm and hang in there."

As the wounds on her body slowly healing back, Rose took a shaky sigh when a tear escaped her eyes. Things had gone bad, like really bad. Everything was messed up, every crucial point in the history at this time were misplaced badly and being where they shouldn't be. God know how long before they decided to fuck up themselves further more without even considering the fate of the world.

Rose knew it was a hard job, she always did, but she just did not prepare for the consequences if she failed. Before in the Trap, she dealt with much more stinky situations but in there she was never worried much because even if she failed, Rose could always do it again. But with this, there was no do over. Once it was done, that's it, she had no more chance and will have to watch the world destroyed while knowing it was because of her incompetent.

_Snap out of it Rose, negative thought will not help you on this._

Rose slapped herself when she turned off the water before stepped out of the water and wrapped herself on a tower. She looked at the woman in the mirror, such a young face and yet the eyes felt like they were too old for her own good. She could do this, Rose thought, but first she needed some time alone to think about it.

"Hey, where is the babe?"

V slightly jolted up when he heard the rugged man's voice over his head. He looked right back on the bed to see there was no one. V blinked when he rubbed his neck, it wasn't painful anymore. In fact, it felt perfect.

"Griffon, where is she? I told you to keep eyes on her?" V said sternly when the blue avian flapped his wings in the room.

"I don't know, okay, I was just doing a check out laps around the house and next thing I know, I got knock out by you sweet cheeks." Griffon said. "I couldn't even open my beak or even moved until you woke up from your beauty sleep, V."

V took an exhausted breath when he stood up on his cane. Dante looked at his fragile form when he clicked his tongue, looked at him right now, gave up on everything to get power only to be like this.

"I think she is inside of the Qliphoth now, but there is no way you could reach her in this state." Dante said when he looked at V green eyes. "Probably why she left you here without saying anything, to make sure you are safe."

V's hands slightly shaken when he gripped his cane, for a moment Dante could see the familiar flame of cold anger and resentment burning in his eyes when the man limply walked out the room.

"Hey V, I know you are still mad the chick after she was trying to kill you but I think she was meant for it to get that spider to get out of you. So you know, you didn't have to go there and fight her. See, she even healed you back in one piece."

"Shut up, Griffon."

V said when smacked Griffon with his cane. That was never his intention, he just needed to talk to her about something. Something that burnt his mind ever since he had heard about it.

_V stabbed his cane into another demon head and watched as its body slowly turned to dust as he walked into the Qliphoth tree. It was the wrong time, he could hear Rose voice in his head, he shouldn't be here but so was Dante. And yet, she just eagerly sent his brother into the fight before went there herself. _

_What was happening? What were they doing in there? Were they killing Urizen?_

_Those were the questions burning in V mind as he let out a frustrated sigh as he encountered another demon on his way. He hated this, he hated being weak, he hated being clueless and left out of the road like some rock. And this happened, right at the moment Dante appeared before them._

_Dante._

_Dante._

_Dante, damn Dante._

_It was always him. The one who always caused the mess and yet being loved and paid more attention, even if it was his mother or father. The one whom mother chose to save and left him behind. The one who proved to be the stronger twin and beat him from time to time, even if it was the past or the future._

_And yet, even with all his resentment and bitter, he couldn't deny that he was happy that his little brother still alive._

_But the moment he saw Dante flew out of Qliphoth holding Rose was sleeping soundly and wrapped only in his red leather coat made V's throat stuck with a lump. Maybe, he was a little bit less happy about Dante being alive._

"_What happened to her?" V asked._

"_I think she passed out because of exhaustion." Dante said when he looked at V. "What is she? What the hell is going on here, Vergil? Because I needed more than just' a time traveller whom trying to save the world that you would trust with your own life'."_

_V looked at Rose whose face's still have some cuts and bruises that was slowly healing, he supposed he needed to fill him more to get his trust. Again._

_So when Dante get them back to the house safely, V tried to brief to Dante as shortly as he could. He disliked this, sharing this story that should just be kept between he and Rose to his brother when he was holding her on his arms. But this fragile body of him can't carry her that long, unlike his brother._

"_Huh, funny." Dante snickered when he put Rose onto bed. "From what I see, she sounded like a decent person. Why would she even attach with a dumbass like you from the beginning?"_

"_It's not your business, Dante." V said when he took off Dante jacket from Rose and wrapped a blanket around her instead. _

"_Yeah right, she must have a really big heart if she could tolerate an ass-rat that tried to destroy the world twice and ripped his own son arm for power."_

"_What?" V's head whipped around when he heard it. "What did you said?"_

"_What? You didn't remember when you lovingly ripped out Nero arm and took the Yamato?"_

"_No, I..." V sucked a deep breath when pieces coming together. "Nero is my son?"_

"_Yeah, you are a dumbass if you couldn't even remember through that thick skull of you."_

"_But he, she..." V looked down to Rose whom was sleeping on the bed. "They looked nothing a like."_

"_Oh brother." Dante sighed at V whose looked so pale like he was about to pass out. "That's Nero mother?"_

"_She is the only one who could be." V whispered out._

"_Wow, what a lucky girl she was, got impregnated and forgotten completely by you."_

_V vaguely heard the sound of Dante left the room when he stared at Rose blankly. A part of him amazed at how Rose could keep this hiding from him that easily, to think about it, Rose never once mention her son name or the man that impregnated her too specifically. It was just something vaguely and blurring, but she could always manage to diverse his attention to other thing._

_Rose was smart, he always knew that but V guessed he just underestimated her slightly._

_The more he looked at her, the bigger the lump in his throat got bigger. This had become too much for him to bear, to seeing in her broken like this and to remember what he did to her son only to realize that he would never atone for what he did._

_They never crossed path again, that fact never haunted him that much._

"_Griffon, watch her."_

_V said when he got out of the room, he needed fresh air to think about this, to clear his mind and figure out what to do next. And he couldn't do that when he was the same room with Rose, whose face just burnt his mind with guilt and pain._

_He walked out to the porch and surprisingly saw Dante was sitting at there, eating some ice cream and drinking beer._

"_You looked like shit." _

_Dante commented when he saw V sat down next to him, the skinny man didn't say anything as he watched the horizon before them. It was amazingly quiet and peaceful in here, there was no demon running around, no stench of blood and death. Just the green bushes of trees waving in the air at the cool wind of the early summer passed through its branch under the clear sky. It felt like when they were children again, at the rare time where the twin didn't throw fist fights and insults but just being brothers, playing outside the house with each other._

"_She seems odd." Dante said after a moment of silent. "Odd but nice. Not to mention have an amazing body after having a kid like that."_

"_I would prefer you do not comment on her like that, Dante." V said through his teeth. "And just nice doesn't make it up for her."_

"_That I couldn't agree more. The kid save people and take care of the orphanages like him, I don't think he got that from his old man."_

"_Nero..." V looked up to the sky when he said. "Must have been the name that her father suggested for her. Rose would think of something simpler, like William or Blake."_

"_Where is he then, if he didn't raise Nero himself?"_

"_Gone into the asylum when Nero was just a baby and died shortly after that." V said. _

"_Oh." Dante said when he nodded. "She went through that much and still smiled normally at the guy who dumped her pregnant and alone. Got to admit the babe got some guts."_

"_I didn't know that she was with a child at the time. If I had known, I would..."_

"_You would what, not leave her and raise a demonic tower that could destroy the world to gain power." Dante snickered. "Right, we both know that's impossible."_

"_I would try to take your hand."_

_Dante glanced at his brother who just stared intensely at the ground when he drank his beer, remorse and guilt written on V face. Dante sighed at this, beating him up as he was right now would be meaningless so perhaps he could do what the babe said, wait for it a little. Dante took a small chuck at his beer when he asked: _

"_So the babe from the future, did she said how all of this would end?"_

"_She said I would be complete and alive after it."_

"_Somehow I have a feeling that would not end well for me." Dante said. _

"_She also said I would get beaten not once but twice in that day." V said. "You are the only one I could think capable of doing that."_

"_Or her son." Dante said when V looked at him. "What? You see what his mom can do. For all we can know, kid could just be like her, he just didn't know it yet."_

"_I never thought of it." V said. "Perhaps, he could even right my wrong. After all, he is her son."_

"_And yours, don't forget that." Dante said when he chucked the last of the beer bottle. "Alright, I will go around and check again if there was anything nasty lurking around here. You tend the babe and make sure when she wakes up, she will tell us what to do and what not, according to her, destroyed the flow of time and universe. Damn, and a few hours ago, I thought fighting the demon half of you is my biggest problem."_

Dante grabbed V in collar when he turned into his demonic form, his wings spread out widely when he shot out in the sky toward the Qliphoth.

"If we are just going to her place, going limply there with a cane won't cut it." Dante said. "Besides, she just telepathically said in my head to meet her there. The Qliphoth would open a separate passage for us to come without any obstacle."

In the meantime, Rose was lying under the crystal of the Atlantis shining brightly. She had found something else to cover her up, an oversized red plaid shirt and a really comfortable black legging. It was still follow her standard when she began this mission, simple but looked good. Even if she was about to die, Rose would still want to look good.

She was just that vain.

"What should I do with you?" Rose said when she looked at crystal that was blinking with red light at her. "I admired your strength and mind, I really do. Had thing been different, perhaps we could even be friend. But your existence in this universe at this time point alone had already been a taboo; even if it wasn't me then it would be someone else to destroy you. And you know that, hence you left this behind. To revenge for the world that couldn't tolerate you and your species. But even I saw you fell in the deep abyss of out space, I felt like a clever one like you would find a way to crawl back in to fight me, wouldn't you? After all, that is what I would do if you kill my only child."

"Hmm, but again, you must be very lucky to stumble on the crystal of an Atlantis. I mean what is the chance of you, the powerful Queen of an extraterrestrial race to stumble on the forbidden energy core of a long lost civilization in the middle of a warzone between human and demons." Rose let out a chuckle. "No wonder Sparda choose this place to be his home in his last years, he must have felt there was something about this town that was just screaming for trouble. I have to admire the man; he was protecting people until the last breath. That is some serious commitment."

Rose looked up when she heard a loud noise to see a red demon holding V in the bridal style, she let out a whistle when she turned her attention back to the crystal.

"I see you two are in good terms back." Rose said. "Take the world to end for you two to make it up, talking about hard heads. But I thought I just called you, Dante, not V."

"Yeah, you know how he is like, won't take no for answer."

"Oh well, there is something I needed you to help me with." Rose said when she took out a small red tentacle that was moving and thrashing in her hand. "You see the thing up here, it called the Atlantis Crystal or the Atlantis Core, one of the most powerful energy sources that human ever made, along with nuclear power. It was also the reason why the continent of Atlantis sank into the sea and gone with the wind, only found in the legends and bedtime story, so you get it dangerous right?"

"The thing is it should have been gone and lost with the Atlantis continent and yet here we are, watching it beeping like a time bomb. So I need you to the follow this tentacle here, it will trace back to the Atlantis's power trace that I got from the Queen's body and to see if there is more of it or the Queen doing anything nasty with it. I prefer to investigate it myself but I needed to be here and watch it out in case it was about to blow up so you get the picture. Anyway, here is a radio contact, when you find it just open it on and contact me, I have already put us on the same channel."

Dante took the radio and the tentacle, V gave him a glance. A glance that was screaming 'just fucking leave and let us alone'. Dante raised his hand in the air as a give up sign, right, he wasn't interested in being the third wheel anyway.

"Is this me or your brother is acting weirder than usual?"

Rose said when she looked at the Devil Hunter just left. V said nothing when he sat next to Rose, she looked up to see except for his black markings, his skin was perfect fine and fair as it should be.

"You are feeling okay?" Rose said when she looked at V who was slightly more emo than he usually was. "Is that spider leaving you feeling nauseous or pain in the chest, fever,...?"

"No, I am fine." V said when he looked at Rose. "My body is fine."

"Oh, that's good." Rose said when she looked at the crystal. "Sorry about the whole 'I hated you so I will kill you'. I needed to convince that spider that I was really going to kill you so I have to make it as real as possible."

"I understand." V said. "Everything you do is always for my own good."

"Of course, after all you are important."

"But I don't understand how come not telling about my own son would do me anything good?"

Rose let out a sound like a squeak and a choke when she sat up immediately. She looked at V and then remembered the weird vibe between Dante and V when they walked in here:

"Seriously, I thought you two are bad at communicating." Rose scratched her head furiously. "Nero mentioned that even though Dante knew he was his uncle for years, he didn't..."

Suddenly, Rose felt V lips on her, making her silent at action. From this close up, she could feel V eyes lashes almost grazed her cheeks as his soft and plump lips pressed to her. What was Vergil's lip felt like? Rose couldn't remember that any more, after all to her, it had been two thousand years. She considered herself to have quite a good memory to even remember the majority of their time together, not less about detail like that.

"You are really good at distracting people, you know that?"

V said when he broke out of the kiss when Rose leaned in and slightly licked his lips while her fingers caressed on his bare chest lightly. She let out a chuckle when she felt her wrists being held tightly on his hand:

"And you are always so concentrating on your goal." Rose said when she pulled her hands back from V's grasp. "So there is no dodging for me from this, huh?"

"When I left, did you...?"

"No, I didn't know until a month after that. And I tried to find you after I got my ears chewed out by my grandma but you are off the grid. Come to think about it, Hell is out of the league for a P.I no matter how good he is."

V let out a grunted when he looked at her. At that time, he remembered Rose was very proudly about her study and achievement in school, how excited she was when she dreamt about her university. But all of those dreams were shattered, because of him.

"Don't look at me like that V, it is a team work for a baby to come." Rose said when she smiled at him. "I know the risk and what it would probably do with my life when I decided to keep and raise him. It was just that no one really think that I would be dragged in to a prison of a god for two thousand years until it was done."

"But still, I am sorry." V said, the words came out of his tongue sounded so weak and meaningless compare to what she suffered and yet, he couldn't think anything else to say. "I am sorry."

"I know you did, our time together proved it a lot." Rose said when she caressed his cheek. "What's done is done V, everything that happened made us the person who we are now. You may not like it, I may not like it but it happened and we are both here now so the best we can do is thrive on to become the better version of ourselves. That is what I am trying to do and I think, that is what you were trying too when you are become whole and make peace with your brother again."

"How can you do this, Rose?" V asked, he stared at her strangely like he couldn't believe at her. "How come you still helping and comforting the man that caused so much pain and grief for you? The man that hurt your son badly? The man that caused the death of thousand people of your own kind?"

Rose paused at this, it was true. Vergil did horrible things, no one can argue with that, to her son and human kind, her kind. Also, he did break her heart in pieces. But if she just left him in suffer like that, her heart would feel even more in pain.

"I..."

"Hey, babe, I followed your tentacle and found this place." The radio suddenly spoke out Dante rugged voice. "You would not believe what I just saw."

"I take it you are underground, considered the noise. Do you know where you are?"

"Yeah, again, it is another surprise for you babe." Dante said through the radio. "There was this whole room of this shit in here, and it was right under your little hideout with V."

Both V and Rose looked at each other, for a split moment Rose talked to the radio:

"Dante, don't touch anything and wait for me there."


	9. Chapter 9

When Rose followed the direction that Dante told her, she found herself before a hole of what like just recently made by someone just punched the wall of its. She carefully walked in with V closely behind her.

"You feel it?" Rose said.

"Yes." V said when he took a deep breath. "I couldn't access to my demonic power or familiars."

"So do I, my magic is dead in here." Rose explained when she started to examine the wall of the tunnel around them, which was carved of lines that was curving and twisted around each other like sea wave. "Atlantians are wonderful mages and architects, they are most famous for their ability to hide in plain sight without any one, supernatural or not can detect. One even said, there are works of them that was so good it could hide from God's eye as well. This is why this neighbor is almost intact in the attack of the demon, the magic of the Atlantians must have shielded them from the eyes of demons and the Qliphoth, and of course, me too."

"You seem to know so much about them?"

"Well, I used to date with a girl in the Trap who was a descendant from the royal family of the Atlantis. She taught me a lot about those stuffs. Cute girl, nice smile but a little bit fragile in the heart, not really a good quality to survive in the Trap."

"Hmm."

V let out a grunted that made Rose turned back, she gave a half-hearted glare when she said:

"V, I have lived for millennia, I have to date someone else besides you."

"No, I didn't mean that. But it was just,..." V sighed when he looked ahead of them. "Dante is probably not far from us, and even if he could not use his demonic power..."

"He could still hear us from a far with his super hearing." Rose said when she sighed and turned on the radio. "Hey Dante..."

"Hi babe, turned left and you will find me there." Dante said in a jokingly matter. "You know, I get it why you like girl. I like them too, and maybe in the near future, you could be my wing man. Or wing woman, whatever it you wanted it."

"Thanks, but I cannot betray my conscience to think about introducing any decent woman to you."

Rose said when she took the turn and spotted the red clad man. As she approached the man, her eyes widened as she could see a room filled with red crystal that was shining with red light that reminded her of a big ass red button of emergency.

"Oh, shit, I didn't think it was real." Rose said when she looked at the carving on the wall with red crystal embedded deep inside it. "The Atlattians were really going to destroy the Demon World."

"What did you say?" Dante asked. "Destroy the Demon World?"

"Yeah, the girl I dated one told me about a myth about this. Long story short, a beloved princess was killed by a demon. The people got mad. They built a weapon that could blow up the demon world. Got sink into the sea before they can do that." Rose walked in the room and looked around. "Oh dear, this is exactly why your father stayed here, he must have found out about it and didn't want his home world to blow up in pieces. But with power of the Atlantis concealing their weapon and all these anti demon spell in here, he couldn't do much about it. So he just decided to stay here and study to figure out a way to defuse all of these."

"So our old man got our entire family resided on a giant ass bomb." Dante said. "Nice."

"If this thing goes off, the Earth is a bomb, Dante. But this thing is stable. Look at the light, it was shining very nice and stable, like a normal light bulb. But our crystal..."

"Blinking like the one about to die. Yeah, I saw enough dead light bulbs at my shop to know one."

"Yes, only if that thing go out, this place will go down along with well, both of the worlds."

"So what do we do about it?" Dante said.

"This place won't be a problem if we can solve what happen up there. But there is one thing I have to find out first." Rose looked up the entire room. "Where the hell did the Queen get that crystal? Because from what I can see, there was not even one missing in here?"

"So you saying..."

"Yep, your father did not get your family to stay here on one giant ass bomb, but maybe even two. Must say, he is really have some commitments for saving the world, going so far at putting his family in places like this. If it was a normal dad, there would be no way..." Rose turned to look at the brothers whose face turned sour. "Right, sorry, but I saw a passage behind this room, you guys may want to head back. The anti-demon spell in here is quite the professional, not really ideal for you two to get in here."

"Let's the lady going in a dangerous alone is not the way I do it." Dante said when he pointed his thumb at V. "So is he."

"Thanks."

Rose said when she carefully heading to a door and opened it, revealing a dark and creepy tunnel with cold wind blowing at her face. If it was up to her, she would not want these two brothers got in here in the first place. But if they were as half as stubborn as Nero told her, there would be no way they sat this one out. Heck, it took Dante a slap bitch in the face and Vergil to get ass kicked by his son to stop them from killing each other.

Rose took deep sigh when she looked at the carving on the wall, there was some kind of stain that looked horribly like dried blood with traces of hand prints on it. Rose rubbed her neck lightly when the hair in their stood up, didn't know if it was because of the cold or the wind blowing in the corner or the tunnel creating the creepy ass sound like someone was crying.

"You know, if this was a horror movie, this would end really badly." Rose said, try to distract herself from the creepy situation, this tunnel was surely long. "We would probably all dead in here."

"Babe, we are not a bunch of drunken college kids." Dante said when he pulled out his guns. "Even if I don't have my demon Trigger Form, I could still kick some demon ass."

"Hate to break it to you, but right now demon is the least of our worry." Rose said when she shivered. "Okay, is this me being a human wuss or it is really cold here?"

"I don't feel it is that cold, Rose." V said when he looked at Rose who was rubbing her arms up and down.

"Take it from this skimpy things he put on, I think it said a lot babe." Dante said when he touched her shoulder. "You are sure you ok to go on?"

"Not sure, but considered five minutes ago you still don't know what an Atlantis crystal is and intended to smash it and kill us all, I say I have to go on." Rose said when she continued to walk. "Who know what you kiddy will do and ruin more when left alone?"

"Kiddy?"

"Two and half millennia in a prison for the Demon God." V said when he leaned slightly on his cane.

"Right, forgot about that." Dante said when he looked at V. "You know, with all that saying, she is technically way older than you which made you two like what people said..."

"Don't you dare say it..."

"A cub and a cougar."

Rose turned around when V furiously swung his cane to hit Dante, to which he effectively blocked by using the Sparda Sword.

"Can't have a second of peace with you two, can I?" Rose shook her head when she continued to walk on the tunnel. "I am so glad I only gave birth to one kid from you Sparda line."

Rose stopped when she saw them hit at a heavily locked door with apparently no handle or even a key hole. Rose looked up on the ceiling and the walls around them along with the door, it was written all over by the weird language that she could not read. It was definitely not the language of the Atlantis, the syllable was dead wrong.

"Hey, do any of you recognize this language?"

Rose turned around to see the Sparda sons looked strangely at them. Rose took that as a yes as she waited for them to tell her.

And waited...

Waited...

Still waited...

"Okay, do you two mind sharing whatever on your mind, because so far I have been doing so for you two? It is really annoying that I tell you everything I know and you didn't bother to tell me anything."

"This wasn't a language, it was a code." V said when he looked up around. "It was a demonic code that only meant for the Sparda bloodline to read."

"Oh, a message from your dad." Rose said. "Okay, what did it say?"

"Don't go in or you will pay with your life." Dante said. "When my old man said that, it is normally really a sign to stay out."

"Normally, I would agree to that. But right now, if we don't go in there, there would be a chance that human and demon all die, included these three stooges here. If it was written by your dad code, it meant that he was the one whom sealed this place. So I guess he wouldn't write down in the language only his sons can read if there wasn't a method to unlock it."

"It required Sparda blood to open to seal." V said. "And the heart of a virgin."

"That's not a very easy to find." Rose let out a wince when she looked back the writing. "So translate it for me, like in the very original meaning. He said the Virgin, as in the one who didn't have sex or something like the pure one or the un-experience one."

"The pure heart of a maiden, that is what it said literally." Dante spoke. "I take it you are not qualified for it, consider you got the kid."

"No, the thing about these rituals is sometime you need to understand it in a very different meaning." Rose said when she tapped her chin. "Maiden could be a virgin, but also just woman or female. Pure could mean a lot, pure angry, pure evil or pure good. Or purely devoted and willingly, without a single doubt. Dante, mind if I borrow your sword?"

"Hey babe, that's not..."

"Dante, the world is in danger. Please know how to share your toy. I will return it, I promise."

"Rose." V warily said. "Don't even think about it."

"V, this is my job, my purpose to get here." Rose said. "I have done nothing but helping and protecting you since I got here so I asked of you, trust me on this one. I will be fine with this."

The two brothers looked at each other, seemed to be having those twin psychic talk in their head before Dante gave a defeated sigh when he gave her the sword.

"Make sure don't die on this. It was bad enough for the kid to have a dead beat dad, it would be horrible if he lost the mother he just found."

"Don't worry, I am a big fan of being alive."

Rose said when she slightly grazed Dante's hand and draw a little blood on the blade on it. She then proceeded to cut on her chest open by it, which was by the way extremely easy since this thing was extremely sharp but still hurt like a bitch. Rose let out groan when she shove her hand into the wound and ripped out her heart before smashed it on the door. The glowing heart quickly melted into a golden liquid and run along the marking and creating a small cracking sound like the meat sizzling on the fire. As the marking on the door was slowly glowing and faded, Rose dropped on her knee when she felt her chest slowly healing back. She felt V's hand on her shoulder when he held her up:

"Are you okay?"

"Give me a few second to heal first." Rose said when she took a sharp breath. "Don't worry, not the first time I got my heart ripped out open. Just the first time I do it myself."

"You are quite crazy, you know that. Hot but crazy, ripped your heart out opened and still joked about it." Dante said when he crouched down and pick up his sword. "You know brother, never take it you have taste for batshit crazy hot chick."

"Dante, I really not in the mood..." V gritted out when Rose grabbed his arm.

"No, it is better that way." Rose said. "I needed to be distracted, to forget the pain and focused more on the healing process. So Dante, keep talking about your joke, it's fun."

"Well, you are the first. Normally chicks hearing my joke whether they wanted to shot me or electrocute me. Heck I even got thrown a bike into my face once."

"I will buy you a drink for the bad joke." Rose let out a small laugh. "Of course, out of pity."

"I would bite that chance. Never got a babe to buy me a drink anyway."

"Ah, now that would be strange." Rose took a deep breath when her heart started to grow. "You are quite a handsome man. I would date you for that face if I had daddy issue and didn't have a child with your brother first."

V looked at his brother and Rose kept joking around with each other, he felt a slight uneasy at this. They fitted well at this, as Dante knew how to make her laugh, even if it was out of pity for his stupid joke while V could only read her poems that she absolutely did not understand. V felt his hand being squeezed lightly when Rose stood up.

"Alright, my heart had grown back, bumping and beating up blood up again." Rose said when she smacked her chest. "Let's see what inside that room."

Rose slightly pushed the door open just enough so she could just poke her head in first. There was no way she let the twins in here after their father glowing message in the room.

"Oh my."

Rose said when she saw around the room then walked in. From the walls to the ceiling and the floor, everything was opted by aquamarine and blue crystal with shining blue line was running in the stone and air like the sea wave. Rose looked at a hole in the middle of the room, it looked like something was roughly removed from them. Didn't take a genius to know who do this. Rose guessed it was easy for the Queen to get in here, drawing blood from Dante when he was sleeping and like Rose, ripping her heart out was not that big problem for her. And the message, the bitch was smart and learning things for matter of second, it would not be hard for her to decode something like this.

Rose touched the hole and looked carefully around the ancient language wrote around it, she let out a sigh when she scratched her head:

"I was wrong, your dad didn't let family live on two giant bombs, just one. This was just a control room."

"Then what is that frown?"

"I am standing on a bomb that could blow up the world Dante, of course I would be nervous."

Rose tilted her head lightly before she looked around. Right now, they needed to handle the ticking time bomb they were sitting on first. Atlantis people were smart, and smart people always leaving for themselves a way out or an emergency backup. In this room perhaps there was some clue for something like that.

Rose running her hands on the blue lines that was waving slightly, she put her ears in the wall and took deep breath at it while listening to it. It sounded like the sea, Rose took when she was caressing the wall, one that was soft and relaxing. It reminded her of the time she went to the beach with Vergil once in Fortuna; it was one of the rare times when Vergil indulged her and actually going out with her to clear his mind instead of focusing another book of poem or going off killing some demon.

She remembered how Vergil refused to get in the water or even change anything lighter than his tailcoat and vest or how he disliked her wearing swimsuit despite there was no one around them, saying there was too much skin exposed. Such a fun ruiner, Rose replied that to him before she swam away in the waves and let herself float on the water while he was just sitting in the van and watched as she was having fun in the sea.

But the thing she loved that the most about it despite the stoic face, his hands felt so softly and gentle when he wrapped a towel around her to keep her warm when she got out of the water.

"Hmm, interesting, very interesting." Rose said when she nodded her head as she continued to tap her fingers on the wall. This was the backup plan, the Atlantis was hiding their code and frequency to control the crystals in the wave's length and sound so if anything happened, they could still copy it and control. Genius actually, hard to detect and hard to be destroyed.

"Is she always like that when you two together?" Dante asked when Rose continued to mumble uncomprehend things when she hugged tightly on the wall. "Talking and mumbling alone like that?"

V ignored Dante question by moving to other side of the room, a habit that his brother did when he was mildly annoy by him before it escalated to extremely annoying and they started to throw fists at each other. Dante shrugged when Rose just keep talking the wall by herself while the human half of his brother just kept staring at her creepily. Truly, V gave her that look, the look when his brother had a very nice new toy that he really liked and refused to let him touch it.

His brother was always like that, Dante thought when V shuffled the old pages of the book, possessive toward his toys and belongings even going so far at writing his name and left his mark on it.

"Okay, so far it is not as bad as I thought." Rose said when she cut her hand and letting the blood dripped on the glyphs around the hole. "First, I must gain the access to the control, which is surprisingly easy consider when the Queen broke in here and took out the crystal had already damaged the security a lot. The hard part is to get that crystal out of the Qliphoth and to somewhere without a demonic energy, something really dangerous to be done when that crystal exposed to demonic energy had become very unstable. One wrong move and game over."

"Alright, whatever you want to save the world. So how are we doing it?"

"First, let see how's thing going in there first." Rose said when she started to draw out the glyph made by her blood. "The Atlantis people were also very careful to the point of borderline paranoid, so this crystal should have some kind tracking or watching spell."

As the glyph glowing, something looked like a screen popped up before them as images flashed through them. She saw the Queen, not as pretty as she remembered when her pearly white skin had turned into the stale gray color with black veins all over it with shark like teeth. Apparently, she was bowing and talking to that tree anal face that was standing almighty with his tentacles thrashing all around.

"She must have absorbed all of her underling to survive and crawl back into here through some crack of space." Rose looked at the body of the Queen. "Her body structure has been damaged and alternate badly, she won't live to see the sun rise. Oh, but with that octopus face's help, it will be just enough time to destroy the world. Let's see if this thing has a sound button or something like that."

Rose started to press around until she could heard the Queen voice echoed the room, amazingly despite looking uglier, her voice still remained velvet and alluring:

"My king, my deepest apologize for letting you falsely believe that the Qliphoth fruit was readied. It was truly just a trickery I played out, but not for you, your majesty but to lure out something else. More precisely, to attract a being that brings more power than the Qliphoth fruit itself."

"Foolishness, there is no such thing could have more power than the Qliphoth itself." Urizen roared out. "You dared to trick me with this treacherous again, receive Death as your punishment."

Rose slightly winced for the Queen when she saw Urizen's tentacles throw her away like a trash doll, yeah, he was definitely like Vergil, unforgiving when being tricked. The Queen slightly trembled when she stood up at her legs, the corner of her mouth slightly raise when she said:

"Even if it was a being that has a golden heart made by the Demon God himself, my King?"

The tentacles that was wrapping around the Queen body stopped its deadly crush but still held her tightly on the air when Urizen spoke:

"Repeat what you just say?"

"The being I was attracting by using the Illusion of the Qliphoth is a human that bringing a heart that made by a celestial being, the same human that helped Dante defeated you and controlled the Qliphoth tree to bring you to your humiliation. I am sure that your majesty in your time in the Underworld, you must have heard about the legend of the Golden Heart bloodline, a human bloodline where they were born with the heart that possessed a fragment of the Demon God. The Qliphoth tree absorbed human blood from thousand people and transferred it in to one single fruit. Its power is divine but my king, don't you want to absorb a piece of power from a divine himself. And my king, you cannot let a being out there could control the Qliphoth by merely its will, something even the demon king and its raiser couldn't do properly."

Rose swore she could hear the wheeling was running in Urizen brain, the Queen had hitting all the right point for him. Did not take a genius to know what his answer was:

"You will bring me this being before me and only then, I shall rip the heart for myself. If you dared to try to play your treacherous act before me again, you shall be crushed into pieces."

"Of course, my king." The Queen said when she moved her legs to the crystal. "Tonight, I shall release a huge wave of power toward the Fortuna city where the child of the being is staying. She will try her best to stop me and come here herself, when that time come and we capture her for her heart. I only have one request, once you consumed the heart, please allow me to continue destroy that town."

"A puny human town is not my concern." Urizen spoke. "I only cared about the power that the being's heart provided me. If I failed to gain any power and you are tricking me again, you shall receive the punishment worse than death."

"I wouldn't dream of it, your majesty."

The Queen bowed down when she gave the crystal a glance. Rose felt a hot burning anger shot through her brain when she shut down the image.

"I need some fresh air. Please don't follow me, V or I may choke you to dead this time for real."

Rose said when she quickly ran out of the room as her breath stuck on her throat. V's mouth slightly opened but then quickly closed when he saw her silhouette disappeared from his sight.

Dante internally sighed when he saw the look etched on his face, why did his dumbass brother always had to create his own misery.


	10. Chapter 10

When she saw the end of the tunnel and fresh crisp air flow into her lung, Rose didn't feel so angry any more. Instead, she just felt scared.

Truly and completely scared.

Rose dropped down the ground when she held her knees tightly on her chest and buried her face deeply in it. Her hands was shaking and trembling with all kind of worse thought running in her head. She couldn't say it was negative thought anymore since right now with how thing looked, those thought was a very possible outcome of this situation.

"Hey, you okay?"

Rose wiped out a single tear dropped out from her eyes when she looked up to see the tall silver haired man and his red leather coat.

"Not really." Rose said. "This is probably the second worst thing your brother said to me."

"So wanted to eat your heart isn't the worst thing like anyone could say to you. What the hell did my asshole brother said to you?" Dante asked.

"Um, well, let's see. Right, the exact quote 'You are a distraction that made me stray away from my purpose and I could not have that anymore. I must leave the distraction and focus on my goal.'"

"Well, that's not really..."

"After he had sexed with me just the night before."

"Ouch." Dante winced lightly.

"Yeah. Ouch." Rose said. "If I was half as strong as I am now, I would totally curse his penis turned into spaghetti noodles."

"I would really love to see how that played out." Dante chuckled when he sat next to her. "Such an asshole."

"And yet, we still love and forgive him after all the shit he put us through." Rose sighed when she looked at Dante. "Don't even bother to deny, I came from the future Dante, I know your choice."

"Yeah, well, it was hard to think anything from your future could be right from what I am seeing." Dante said. "So what is the plan?"

"I will give the remaining power I have left for you two so you could beat up Urizen again and for V to kill the Queen while I neutralize the Atlantis crystal and make sure no one in the history die. Simple enough?"

"Too simple and too good to be true, babe." Dante said. "What happened to you if you do that?"

"I will be human, completely. No more magic, no more healing. One stab in the chest and I am done."

"You are going into a demon tree, facing the demon King that wants to eat your heart and a Spider Queen that wanted to kill you herself, unarmed, no magic, no nothing." Dante looked at Rose. "I couldn't protect you when my hand is full with Urizen and so is V."

"That's not your job to protect me, Dante." Rose said. "Your job is the same as mine, protect the world from the destruction no matter what form it take, by whatever it meant. Even if you have to let me die in it."

"If Urizen manage to kill you, and yet me and V somehow still alive after this and the world is not burning in pieces, you do know that I will still have to kill him right? Or the kid will."

"No, Nero wouldn't do that. He wouldn't kill his own father, I mean he stopped you two..."

"That is when his father didn't cause his mother death, Rose. I lost my mother to something evil like Urizen, I knew that feeling. He would want revenge, and he would not let anything to stop him put a sword into his mother's killer heart. Even if it was that his own father."

"Even if that was just his demon half not his whole man."

Dante gave her a look, a look that told her his answer. She looked down to her hands, the cut still visible and just barely stopped bleeding.

"If it goes down to that road, then I would need to have some backup plan." Rose said when she touched Dante's forehead.

"What was that for?" Dante rubbed his forehead, it felt slightly tingly.

"I just cast a spell on your mind to let you keep your memory from being wiped away but just locked up after this mission ended, granted you have to stay alive first. But when you go to Hell with your brother, my spell will slowly wear out and your memory will be back. In that time, you will be able to judge what to do with him. Kill him or let him live, it's up to you. But remember this, he probably won't remember a single thing about me or my time here."

"Hard choice you put me in: to kill my brother even if he does not remembered what he did or risk the chance the kid found out and hunted him himself?"

"Yes, I will not put you in that position if I could have it other way." Rose sighed. "If you let him live and somehow you manage to get back on Earth, please make sure that they won't kill each other for me."

"I will try my best."

A blue feather dropped on the ground not far from them when the blue bird quietly landed on a branch and flapped his wings lightly to avoid any notice. Dante saw it at the corner of his eyes but moved his head away and said nothing.

"Alright, time to rest is over, we needed back to our work." Rose said when she turned to Dante. "Let me get the emo rock kid wannabe and we will go beat up that Tree Anal face and his Spider Lady."

Rose took a deep breath when she saw the rugged man slightly raise the corner of his mouth, from this angle with his white hair and blue eyes, he looked like Nero a lot. She smiled at the thought of her son. Nero was a bright kid, he probably knew they were related somehow but he never thought that something wild like Dante was actually his uncle. She could understand him in that aspect, she meant if she knew she was someone aunt, she would definitely tell him the moment she knew about it not wait for like years and dropped the bomb when they was fighting his dad.

And yet, for someone so bad at communicating like that, she could see that he bonded with his brother just fine. Look at V and Dante now, when they can set aside their differences a little bit, the way they worked and talked to each other was borderline normal. Must have been those sibling bond, when they said they hated each other was actually a way to say they cared.

Unlike her and V, no matter if they had sex or kissed, things between them would always have been awkward. They could reach where they were now only because she was relying on the fact that he would remember not a thing about this and he was only chasing the amount of short time they had together. Had it not because of those two reason, she would not stay calm like this and he would not be so easily let her near him.

"Hey V, let's go to the Qliphoth and end this."

Rose said to V, she could barely look at him now when she turned her back again him. She didn't want to act like this, but seeing him and she couldn't help seeing Vergil and all the mess he was creating right now. Dante was right, if she swapped place with Nero, she couldn't forgive him either.

This wouldn't end well, Rose thought when the Qliphoth opened the road for them.

Rose looked up on the huge ass demon that was the demon half of the her ex. Tentacles thrashed all around, sharp shark teeth and blood dripping all over along with the perished smell of blood and death that was choking her out; hard to believe she used to digging this thing when she was young. It was easier to face it in here when she was an immortal but now all the demonic energy and the stink really affect her badly. Rose coughed lightly when she slightly punched her chest, this place was not suitable for a human being to stay in this for too long. Lady was a healthy one could last quite long, but for Rose with her body still aching all over, this was not good.

But again, there was nothing positive about this in the first place.

"So, you are back?" Rose said when she looked at Queen next to Urizen. "Nice, Queen of Monster next to the King of Demon, you two are really MFEO, Made For Each Other."

"Stop this foolishness of your and surrender your heart to me." The voice of Urizen echoed in her ear. "A puny human do not deserve such divine power inside your useless body."

"Sorry asshole, that's not happen." Dante said when he turned on the Devil Trigger. "You and I still have some score to settle."

When Dante charged at Urizen, V raise his cane as the Shadow lunged at the Queen, his tattoo slightly glowing in golden light when the demonic feline attacked the Queen.

"Griffon, cover me while I figured out the way to get that thing out of here." Rose said when the blue bird flew around her head.

"Alright , sweet cheeks, I got you."

Rose ran toward the red crystal that was glowing in the crazy light when she felt a thorny vine lift her up to it. Rose couldn't help but scoff at the irony when she traced her fingers around the burning crystal, even a tree more reliable than her ex now. At least it was not helping a creature from outer space destroy the world.

"The Atlantis core is unstable, demonic energy around it must have triggered the defense system." Rose murmured when the ancient letters from the lost language glowing when she touched as blue waves started to emerge from the. "I had hoped you don't have a self-destruct function but such a wishful dream, of course you would. Oh, but it could be over-written and oh, my my... , you have already over-written it. Even when you are gone, you still save the world."

Rose smiled when she felt the hot burning red mark with ancient runes on it, with one small twist as her fingers was burning with hot white smoke flew out. Suddenly, Rose felt a gust of wind at the back her neck and the hair of her body stood up screaming danger. She turned around to see a giant ass silver black saw coming right at middle her face, her finger quickly scratched on the crystal.

A blue shield appeared around Rose and as soon as the Chaos touched it, the reptile demon quickly turned into dust.

That was close, Rose thought when she continue to move her fingers on the crystal, making the blue waves appeared on it moving followed her in rhythm. If Rose could making these waves moving back to the pattern followed what she saw on the walls, than this thing could be back to be just nice and safe glowing crystal.

"Sea wave, sea wave."

Rose whispered when her fingers danced on the crystal, normally there was a machine for the repurposing and stabilizing the crystal. But that kind of equipment was probably at the bottom of the sea, so she had to do it by hand. It was not an easy job, especially there were multiple demons started to attack her and the lightning bolts Griffon shooting around her didn't exactly created a concentrating environment.

"Hey Griffon, how's the boys doing?" Rose asked when her fingers were continuously tapping at the crystal, right now she could not even tear her gaze out of it.

"Dante, the smart guy is kicking thing up with Urizen while our Shakespeare had managed to cut three out of eight legs of the Spider-Lady. Oh wait, she grew it back and he is back at square one." Griffon flapped his wings around when the lightning shooting. "Seriously, this sugar tits is not strong, but she is bitch to deal with."

"Hmm, tell V she was already weakened and tried to attack at her abdomen." Rose replied. "That place stored the most energy and yet having the weakest defense."

Rose looked up where the crystal was plugged in deeply on the Qliphoth root, she started to carefully twist the crystal like a small screwdriver. Rose inhaled deeply when she saw the Atlantis crystal started to come off the Qliphoth branch. This was good, this was really good, Rose thought when she holding the crystal that was still burning on her hand but was slowly cooling down with blue waves moving slightly as the light was not blinking wildly anymore. As long as she got it out the Qliphoth, this should be back to normal.

"Seem like I fix the light bulb."

Rose smiled when she clutched the crystal tightly on her hands when it was completely removed it from the demonic tree. But before she could drown on that happiness, Rose eyes widened when she saw something glowing at her face before a blinding light hitting her face. And then, everything went black for her.

...

When Rose woke up again, she felt the Qliphoth thorny roots was shielding around her body. God, she should really consider dating it now because from what she could see, it had all the quality of a good boyfriend: helpful, reliable and being there when she needed.

Rose groaned when she coughed lightly as she felt her eyes sight was blurry and her face felt like it was half-burnt up, which it probably was. To be honest, getting a bomb blew up in her face such a close range like that and still alive was already considered very lucky. If the Qliphoth was late for one moment, Rose would turn into a burning mess. Not that it was a better state than she was now. Rose grabbed on one of the thorn to get up while still clutched tightly at the Atlantic crystal; that was a good trick, a really really good one. There was no way she could avoid that, not by any chance.

As the Qliphoth's roots slightly untangled around her, Rose saw V had raise his cane and stabbed right at the Queen's abdomen. Her red glowing eyes stared at her before the corner of her mouth slightly raise up as she saw something behind her. From the corner of her eyes, she saw a tentacle shot right at her chest as Urizen voice roared:

"The power will be mine."

"Watch out."

Griffon said when he flew at her and pushed her out of the way but not very successful, because instead of being stabbed she felt herself being threw back violently before hitting the walls. Rose coughed up blood when she saw Dante swung his sword at Urizen, but before he could finish the blow he himself was being stopped dead at his track. Rose smiled lightly when she saw the Queen body slowly turned to dust when she was still on her very thin breath.

In the end, Rose still won at this.

Ah, so satisfying, to be the last one standing and won the bet of death.

Rose took a sharp breath when she felt the power of the crystal ran in her body, it felt like hot lava burnt right through her body. Had it any different circumstances, Rose would have been burnt to death for daring to absorb such a powerful energy into her body in such a weaken state; it was pretty much like she was trying to swallow the sun into her body.

But that damn sweet deal with the Death was truly worth every moments of her hardship, it kept her from dying and for her not dying than it would mean for them to keep on swallowing the energy around her.

"Ouch."

Rose sat up when she let out a groan, she saw the red clad Devil and her tattooed lover along with herself were already out of the Qliphoth. It seemed the spell of the Death started to working itself to repair things, saved her from the good grief from trying to pry Dante and Urizen from each other.

"Rose, you okay?"

"Yeah, I am good."

Rose answered when V helped her stood up on her feet. She looked at herself, her clothes had burnt holes with blood and dirt on it but other than that, still remain pretty much intact. It would be awkward for it to be burnt completely again.

"So that's it, are we done?"

Dante asked. Rose said nothing when she closed her eyes to focus. After a while of silent, she let out a small sigh of relief when she said:

"The history is on the right course. You two still alive and kicking in my memory."

"Well, that's a relief." Dante said. "So what do we do now? Just sit down and wait to forget everything."

"You need to get back your beauty sleep in the same place you woke up to make sure things run in its exact course, Dante and I will take V out of here. The demons near the Qliphoth are too dangerous for him to go around." Rose said when she stuck her hands out. "You can say this is our goodbye. It's a pleasure to meet you, Dante."

"Nice to know you too, Rose." Dante said when he smiled when he shook her hand, not the joking and light heart he often put on his face but a more sincere one. "The kid is very lucky to finally have you back."

Rose let out a small chuckle when she looked at the rugged man, she wanted to say thank to him for watching on Nero back for the last years but on her second thought, she felt like Dante was not the person whom need such a sentimental things like that. So Rose just rubbed her hand and blew a golden dust at Dante when she said:

"Good night, Dante and when you wake up, kick your brother ass real hard for me."

Dante let out a laugh when the dust engulfed him and moved him back to the place where they first found him. Rose looked up the dark sky above her before turned to V, whom was silently looked at her.

"Come on, let's get out of here."

Rose said when she grabbed V hand when she safely teleported him back to neighbor where the Atlantis's core buried. Rose gave the surrounding area a quick look before she carefully sealed all the trace of evidence where the Atlantis was. It was something she must deal with later when she was back in her time so for time being just hide away in here. Beside it was remained undiscovered for a few millennial, Rose thought it would be fine to lie there and wait for about a year.

"Now it is finally over."

Rose said when she finished her magic. Now, there was nothing else to distract her, Rose had to finally deal with V. She was angry, no extremely pissed because excuse her, she just nearly killed by that Octopus face and she could not even retaliate at him. And she was kind of mad at V, because at the end of the day, V and Urizen were connected at the same guy.

The S-class A-hole that was her ex and the father of her child.

"So I take it you will head back to the future." V said.

"Yes." Rose said. "Right at the midnight."

V nodded when he decided sat in front of the porch of the house, and some reason, Rose decided to join him. The air between them felt weird and tight as the sound could be heard was V flipping his book; Rose was used to the silent when she was spending time with V and Vergil. But it was the kind of silent that made people felt calm and serenity when they drown in their own world and yet still enjoyed the company of their partner. But this, it was almost suffocating.

"So, do you have anything to say with me before I go?"

Rose finally decided to break the ice first by jumping in it; since they have no time to qualm, she decided just be straight forward. Rose didn't want the last moment she could spend with V was just some awkward silent.

V closed the leather book on his hand when he gave a side glance, he looked gloomy; even more than his usually emo boy, Rose thought to herself.

"Why do you refuse to let me keep my memory even when I asked you for over and over times and yet you let Dante have his when he is not even asking the first place?"

There was a certain bitterness and anger laced in his voice when the haunting green eyes bored at her face, waiting dearly for her response. Rose rubbed her temple when she sighed, guessed that blue demon bird was hanging around when Dante and her talk. She understood why V was so wounded by it. Even not mentioning about the crazily obsessed rivalry between the two brothers; if she was in his shoes, knowing that someone she cared about denied what she wanted so desperately and yet the same time giving it to somebody else casually, it must have been very painful.

But the same time, it was not like she had much choice. The last thing she wanted was her son killing his father with the same heirloom that she was given him because of her death. Rose needed someone to step up and stop that blood shed, and who else got the power and the voice over that father and son beside the Legendary Hunter.

"I understand why you let Dante keep his memory. But what about mine?" V asked after he heard her explanation. "It's my memories, Rose, mine. Not anyone else. Do you know how hard it is, to every day wake up beside you and seeing you shine so brightly only to know that I have to forget you just for the sake of seeing you again? And now when you have the power to let me hold on to those memories, you refuse to let me have one simple thing to have my mind untouched? You, of all the people should know how hard it is to swallow the fact that letting some creature touch our mind like that?"

Rose gave herself a good hard question at that, she could gave all the reason about some magical effect not being efficiency enough on the half-soul and the consummation of the Qlitphoth fruit made it even more unstable. But if Rose really wanted, she could figure out something and overcome those obstacles and gave what V really wanted.

But she didn't.

And V deserved the truth, not the long logical facts that she was using to shield the truth from herself just to avoid pain.

"If I let you keep the memories, it won't be you but Vergil who will have it in the end." Rose said when her hands reached out and put a strand of his ravenous lock behind his ears. "And I don't want to see something I love and treasure so much being seen as weakness and thrown away by him like the way I was."

V hold Rose's hand tightly when she gave him a small smile but her eyes looked so sad. He wanted to say that it won't be thrown away, that even when Vergil would never admit it, he had always keep her closed to his heart and refused to ever forget about. But then V looked at the black marks on his skin, he just felt whatever he was going to say was so laughable.

V, himself was the very symbol of what length Vergil would go through to abandon his humanity and anything ties with it just so he no longer bound by the things he saw as weakness. How come he even said that she wouldn't be thrown away, when V himself was just a piece of the humanity scraps that Vergil trying to dispose too.

So instead of saying any meaningless words, V touched her cheeks before leaning down to kiss her softly. Rose took a soft sigh when she rested her forehead at his shoulder as soon they broke the kiss, she could feel his chin rested on the top of her head as his arms wrapped around her body warmly.

Rose felt a pang of guilt when she realized this precious moment would be carved into her very own heart and soul until the day she die. But for V, he had to forget about it in his very short time of existing in here.

"I will remember you, V, until the very last breath I take on this world."

Rose said when she looked at his shining green eyes. That was the only thing she could think to promise him, to make his pain and suffering lessen when she was gone.

"I know, my dear. I know." V said when he stroking her hair. "There is something I want to ask you. And I wish that you could answer me honestly with all your heart for me."

"Of course. What is it?" Rose asked.

"If the circumstances was different, if everything between us didn't go so wrong and I was not a fool in the past; would you accept to be my wife if I asked for your hand?"

Rose paused for a few moments, it was a hard question and a lot of ifs that V was asking. But as Rose let go all of her rational thoughts about the different scenarios, she found her answer was very simple:

"Yes, I probably would."

"Then if I asked for you to be mine as us now, would you still say yes?"

V asked again when he held her hand softly, his heart slightly raced quicker when he saw the deep thought in Rose eyes. He knew that it was a lot to ask of her that after everything they had been through; but he wanted to know even after everything, did she still want to be with him in every single mean; not just of a lover but a true partner and companion for life. The black haired beauty then nodded her head when she smiled at him, a smile that as bright as the sun just like back then:

"Yes, I do."

Note: Yes, our boy V is practically asking Rose to be his wife and she says yes.


	11. Chapter 11

"Keep climbing, climbing, climbing. Keep climbing, climbing and climbing."

Rose hummed to herself as her boost hitting the cold and slippery ground covered by snow and rock underneath her. The brunette smiled when through her goggle and the heavy snow wind, she could see the top of the mountain. Rose's legs pushed herself up higher when she sucked another breath, finally, she could cross something from her bucket list: climbing to the top of the Everest Mountain alone.

After returning from that really intense mission, Rose decided that there were so many things she wanted to do and experience that she was putting behind too much just because she thought she had a lot of time. If this mission taught her anything, that was one can never know what would really happen next and she should really do what she wanted when she had the chance.

So after a weekend of resting and playing with the children at Nero's house and taking care of the Atlantis core, Rose decided to pack her backpack to explore the world and cross of her bucket list slowly while adding new things. The first thing she did was the Everest mountain, something she had always wanted to do when she was still a kid.

This was exactly what she needed, something simple but not too easy to do, something that require her concentration but not her mind. Something that was technically impossible to fail for her. Even when the Everest Mount wasn't in the best weather, with the heavy cloud and there was a snow storm when she started the climb. But Rose kind of like it, it made it a little bit more challenging for her immortal body.

The bonus that there were not many people or any other creature out here, it made her mind here could finally drown in solitude and peace again. Something that she really needed, ever since her ex and both of his half fucked her up in so many ways on her last mission. Rose slightly grunted when her food slipped up lightly when she quickly regained her balance and continue to climb up.

Rose breathed deeply when she looked below if she felt, only ice and darkness under her as the strong wind of snow swirling around her. It would be a scary sight if she was a normal human, heck, even a low level demon could die when fallen from this height. But to Rose, it was just something to boost the adrenaline rush within her body. Rose stretched her arms when she plunged the axe again.

It had been roughly for about two weeks when Rose started her climbing up nonstop, like literally; no sleep, no eating or even rest. Her body did not need to sleep or eat, most of the time she did because out of pleasure or when she was just completely drained from her magic source. To be honest, if she wanted to be at the top of the mountain, she could always just teleport herself up there and enjoyed the view. But her bucket list was climbing on it, not teleport on it. She already had cheated quite much with just this immortal body of her, normal human took roughly two month, she only took two weeks; if she cheated more it would feel meaningless.

Something could only be special if it was hard to achieve.

Rose thought to herself when she managed to take the first step on the top of the mountain. Her whole body was quite aching from the nonstop moving and the cold, her skin was freezing and her lung was tight and kind of uncomfortable because the lack of oxygen; Rose could not help but fell it was all worth it from what she saw .

She was on top of the world, all alone and achieved this all by herself.

"I AM HERE."

Rose screamed on the top of her lungs, she laughed out lightly when sit down on the snow when hearing her echoes lost in the screaming of the wind around her. It was freaking cold on the ground that made her butt felt like it was frozen again but she could not careless. Rose looked up at the sky; glowing stars looked like fairy dust covered every corner of the sky and the Milky Way was like a magical cloud glowing with ethereal light cut across it.

"Magnificent."

Rose said when she took out her camera and started to take the pictures, what the point of going to the roof of the world and not taking some photos of it. Rose took a deep breath when she felt the snow drop on her face as she looked around, layers and layers of rocky mountain continuously arranged until the sky horizon that had flashed of dark blue and white mixed together.

Such a view, such a beauty that made her heart beat faster with the realization of how small she was before the whole word. So much to see, so much to discover and so much to learn.

Rose smiled when she took a few others and sat there until the sun rise at Everest before teleport herself to a major city near the Everest. At much as she loved a challenge, Rose also easy to get bored, there for she found no joy in climbing down again. She felt like it would be better to spend the time for some sightseeing.

"Hmm, can't wait to get those delicious Butter Tea and pancakes."

Rose slightly shivered when she walked on the crowded street, the change of temperature making she felt a little bit drowsy when she went in the hotel she booked before.

"Hi, I would like to have a room." Rose said to the receptionist. "I booked under the name Rose Kavinsky."

The receptionist smiled at her when she nodded and took her credit card. Rose entered her room when she took out her phone and started to dial for Nero, but after a few ringing there was still no answer. Maybe he was busy, Rose thought when she put her phone on the table and quickly changed her freezing clothes when she went in to the bathroom.

The warm water felt like hot lava burning on her frozen skin when Rose stood under the shower, but it really did help her blood pumping better. Said that, Rose tried to finish her shower as quick as she could. She quickly jumped out and quickly put a robe onto her body and popped out some champagne while admiring view outside: a crowded line of people moving on the street under the bright street light with colorful neon signs of the store blinking in the night. The sight was not as magnificent as the layers of mountain and snow on the Everest but it was something very lively and vitality that made Rose felt a nice sensation of inside her chest.

After getting a nice rest, Rose decided that she should just hit the street right now and check everything she could. But when she was at this really nice souvenir store and check out some necklace as a gift for Kyrie, her phone rang again.

"Oh hi Nero." Rose said when she saw the caller. "Do you just finish a job?"

"Umm, not really." Nero said, he sounded slightly out of breath. "Do you finish climbing the Mount Everest?"

"Yup, just a few hours ago and I have to say Nero, the view is really out of this world. It really made me feel peace after all the drama, I feel so much better. Say Nero, do you like a Kukri Knife? I saw one in here with an interesting material from Demonic World that could slay some demon."

"Yeah, thank but no, I prefer sword and gun." Nero said, his breath was again hitching when he said in a smaller voice. "Hey, um, when do you return?"

"Oh, I think I am not going to return home for a few more weeks." Rose said when she checked out this really set beautiful wool shawls, she could buy this for the whole family. After all, Fortuna had it cold months, this could become handy. "Is everything okay Nero? Is there anything you needed me with?"

"No, no, no, nothing like that." Nero immediately said. "You know what, just take all the time you needed. Sightseeing, eating food and taking pictures, do all the stuff you wanted. We are all fine here, just take some rest mom. You deserve it"

"Okay." Rose said. "You sounded a little bit jumpy, Nero. Are you sure you okay?"

"Yeah, I was just kicking thing up with these demon assholes and stuff."

"Oh, in that case you should get some rest. I will call you later to check you up okay?"

"Sure, bye mom."

"Bye."

Nero looked at his phone when he took a deep breath, his ribs were still healing and the bone was started to get into places. He groaned when he lay back at the couch, Nico light up her cigarette when she said:

"So I take it you are not telling your mom that your dead beat daddy and uncle had returned from Hell a couple days now?"

"She needed a break from all the shit Vergil put her through. The ass wouldn't care if she knew he came back or not anyway."

Nero said when he wiped up the blood on his nose, the name came out from his tongue like a acid. The asshole knew how to punch like how he drew his swords, Nero had to admit that when he felt the ribs finally gone back to places where it should be. But to sooth down his ego, his old man did not spare any better as Nero certain he broke something too.

Both he and Dante.

When he heard the news about the certain two half- demons returned from the Underworld, the first thing he thought that he was glad his mother was out of town and unreachable, so she didn't have to deal with this shit. Then, he started to get really angry when he thought deeper.

Dante knew he was his uncle for years and didn't bother to tell him until they were at that fucking Tree.

Vergil was the deadbeat asshole that ripped him arm out for power, nearly destroyed the world twice. Even almost killed his mother once from what she told him about her last mission.

That successfully made Nero blood boil from zero to one hundred and all he wanted was to run into the Devil May Cry office and pound on the two assholes. But a voice in Nero, a voice of reason that barely there now showing itself as it said:

"_Think of you mom. Do you think she would want to see her son beating his father?"_

This immediately made Nero anger melt down a little bit, just for him to decide that he should stay at Fortuna a few days to really think and calm down before he took a driving to the Devil May Cry office and started to ask questions that definitely turning into a fight. But he didn't expect that this afternoon when he was fixing his van at his garage, the hair of his neck stood up with a familiar presence.

Two actually.

Nero drew out the Snow White as fast as he could, the coldness of the wooden sword calm him slightly when he gritted through his teeth:

"What the fuck do you do in here?"

"Eh, come here to check on my favorite nephew." Dante said when he checked out the Snow White. "I see you got new toys."

"Family heirloom."

Nero gritted out, his eyes could not leave the man in blue. Here they were, standing in this exact place in the exactly one year ago. Nero could still feel it, the enormous blood flow from his lost arm when he was looking at it, how he could still ghostly feel it despite it being removed from his body as pain started to consumed his mind and the sight of his old man coldly left him into the pool of blood when he stepped into the portal. Nero slightly tighten his grip of the right arm on his Blue Rose when he swallow hard, every instinct on his body told him to launch at the danger and beat it.

"Oh, it is glowing. It looked like a light saber, kind of cool."

Dante said when he looked at the sword that was glowing with golden light, despite saying that, Dante could feel the hair on his back stood up when the light glow brighter. There was not a lot of thing could make him feel that way, and when it did, he normally strike it down immediately. But he was sure that would not be appropriated right now. And apparently, he was not the only one felt threaten by that sword when he could feel his brooding brother unsheathed his sword. Yep, not helping with the tense atmosphere.

"Kid, calm down, we are just here to talk." Dante said when he put his hand up. "Just put that thing down, both of you."

Nero hesitantly put down the Snow White, it quickly turned back into a small wand but he still clutched onto it tightly. Dante raise his brow at this, seemed like the babe gave her son quite a cool toy. Definitely better than that book, in Dante opinion.

"I thought you two are stuck in the Underworld for good."

"You forgot your old man can open the portal."

"With the First Born died and the Qliphoth cut down, shouldn't the barrier of the worlds thicken significantly?" Nero asked.

"Well, it is. But your old man managed to find somewhere the barrier was thin and sliced it down to get back here." Dante said. "I meant, Hell isn't really that appealing to us. There was no pizza, no sundae, and the smell is just straight up garbage."

"The smell of your office is not any better." Nero said when he took deep breath to calm down, not really helping much when Vergil just stayed silent and looking around. "What are you looking for? This place did not have anything for you to gain power or any of those shitty goal."

"Don't talk to me like that." Vergil said.

"Oh yeah, what the fuck are you going to do about that? Ripped my arm out again?" Nero voice got louder. "You had the fucking nerve to come back here and actually think that you can tell me what to do."

"Didn't your mother teach you some manner when you are talking like that, boy?"

Before Nero could comprehend what happen, he was already seeing red and triggered his Demon on. Blue wings spread out as his hair lengthen, Nero launched at the blue demon and threw a punch on the face of the man. He was half expected that Vergil would draw out his sword and stabbed him but the older demon did the opposite, he too raise his arm up and punched him in the gut. And then there was Dante, tried to pry them off but ended up joining in the fight when Nero punched him in the jaws and Vergil kicked him in the knee. So everything turned up exactly what Nero didn't want to: A major fist fight that neither party bothered to stop.

It wasn't until Nico came to his house and scream on her lung to stop them from fighting like kindergarten kids that destroyed half of his garage, they managed to stop this. Nero huffed when he got up, the taste of blood in his mouth and pain engulfed all over his body when bones started to crack. He heard a voice again, this time sounded just like his mom:

"_God, what's wrong with you Sparda boys? Can't you just sit down and talk like a civil person?"_

Nero couldn't help but sigh when he heard this, right, that would be exactly what his mom said. But it was hard to talk, not when it was a lot easier to just fight them.

"Don't ever fucking talk about me and my mom like that."

Nero gritted his teeth when he left inside the house, not bother to see the two painting demon on the floor. The Snow White still glowing in his hand but he put it his inner pocket, where it was closer to his heart.

"Stop smoking in the house, Nico, this place will stink up."

"Whatever, dude. I have to go check if any of my babies in your garage still intact."

Nico said when she left outside, Nero took another deep sigh when he rested his head back to the couch. He could still feel their presence outside of his house, didn't know why Vergil still stayed here and not slashed a portal to come back at wherever he wanted to. A thought came to his mind when his breath slightly hitched as a bone snap and came to place, if they were really focused about eavesdropping, both of the demons could have heard his conversation with his mom just now.

What was Vergil still doing here anyway? He had expected the deadbeat father to leave after that heated fight. He had no problem with leaving his mom behind when thing got serious.

Mom.

What would she say in this if she was here?

First, if she was here, there would be no way any of them would have a punching fight in the garage. She would manage to stop them, probably by saying something weird or her bad jokes to cool thing off. Or something really positive and optimistic like:

"_Your dad is trying, in his own way."_

Nero clenched his jaw when he walked up to his closet, and opened a drawer to take out a small brown book before heading outside. Family did not just about blood, it was about people trying for each other no matter the shitty circumstances they were in. Like Kyrie and her family did for him, or his mother did when she was in the Trap.

But just for once, he would try and give a little bit more effort to Vergil. Not because of the ass, obviously.

He did this for her, for his mother who always tried her best to lessen the strain between him and the man who gave her so much pain, just because the ass gave him half of his genetic code. He own her that much, the woman that gave up her life not just once for him.

Nero saw the blue demon was standing there with his wounds all heal up, like his brother when he gripped on the Yamato on his hip.

"Here, I take it you want it back."

To many people, perhaps this was looked like Nero was sulking and returning stuff back to his dead beat dad and cutting ties. But to anyone knew Nero, the fact that he was not cursing like a sailor and actually being somewhat polite and not being sarcastic was a sign for that he wanted to patch thing up a little bit after that brutal fight. The fact that Vergil knew it or not was none of his concern, it was not his fault that he didn't know Nero in the first place.

Vergil took the leather book back into his hand, he could see it was very well preserved. His blue eyes looked up to see the young demon hunter shuffled on his feet uncomfortably when he asked:

"Did you read it?"

"Kind of, but I don't understand a lot." Nero said, trying to not awkward feel like a school boy before his teacher. "Poem is not my thing."

"Just like your mother."

Nero eyes shot at Vergil when he said this, but surprisingly there was no sign of sarcastic or anything like that. It was more of a comment, a fact that he just pointed out:

"Yeah right, I have to take after her something."

Nero said when he noticed at how much the man resembled him in the outside. More than one, Nero had heard the comment of how he took after his mother so little on the appearance compare to his father. Luckily, he didn't inherit his father asshole personality.

"So, where is the babe? I didn't see her around." Dante said when he was looking around. "Go off doing something crazy again?"

"Climbing up to the Mount Everest." Nero said.

"That sounded mundane for her."

"Not everyone liked the life filled with adrenaline rush. Sometime people needed some rest too."

Nero replied when his eyes slightly stopped at Vergil, his face still remained calm and stoic when he heard the mention of his mother. Did Dante tell him about what happened or he just remembered it out for himself? Or he just simply didn't care enough about the woman that he once have a brief fling with years ago that he didn't even blink at the mentioning of her?

"Yeah, so kid, we just dropped by to say hi." Dante said when they all went silent. "Tell your mom I say hi."

"Sure."

Nero said when Vergil unsheathed his sword and opened a portal. But before he stepped into the portal, Vergil slightly stopped when he said to Nero:

"Nero, just as much as you hate it when I was telling you what to do, I don't like it when you make assumptions about me and your mother, or even decided things for her. Things between us, are..." Vergil paused slightly at this. "Complicated."

"Just like anything else involved you."

Nero said, half sarcastic. Vergil didn't say anything when he stepped in the portal with Dante put his finger on forehead like a sign of goodbye. Nero looked down to his phone, he hated to admit that Vergil was probably right. He shouldn't judge the things between them, especially when there was so much he didn't know.

But still, his mom was out for quite some time now and probably would for more. Nero would try to break the news for her later because right now, his own mind was turmoil itself.

...

Vergil looked at the shagged office with the neon sign shone brightly on the front when Dante kicked the door in, which was barely hanging on it margin when the younger twin stretched his arms:

"Home, sweet home."

Dante said when he threw his foot on the table and checked on pizza box to see any pieces of pizza left on before he let out a disappointed groan and reach for a glass of alcohol. Vergil looked around the office, it seemed like the other females as Dante's friends was on some job and not being here. Not that he ever admitted it, but Vergil felt a slight relief when knowing those two woman were not presence: he would not have to deal with Mary, or now known as Lady's sharp remark on his past or the outrageous resemblance as the demon named Trish after his mother.

Not today, when he just got out a fight with Nero and still had no way to contact with his mother.

Rose.

The name ringing in his head with a strange sensation, somewhere back in his mind, he felt a sense of longing and nostalgic when he tried to remember more about the black haired girl he met years ago in Fortuna. And apparently about a year ago at the Qliphoth as V, according to his brother.

Discomfort rose in his heart when Vergil realized that right now, everyone including his brother knew Rose better than he did when he shouldn't. Nero, he had accepted it, the boy bear more resemblance to her about personality than the outlook; both their impulsiveness and the kindness they were willingly to offer to a stranger they just met. So it was normal for him to get closer to her in such a short time, they were so much alike and had so much in common than even he or Dante could relate.

But Dante, lord knew how much it annoyed him, to know that his brother was telling him about his own memories with the person whom was one of the few he ever let near his heart. Vergil pretty sure it was Dante purpose to motivate back on Earth, and he hated to admit it but it was working. He wanted to know why, why was in the world that Rose let his brother kept his memories but not him?

Was it revenge for all those years ago and for Urizen's doing? Or perhaps something else, something that V and her agreeing to each other that lead to this?

"Hey bro, I am pretty sure she will come back early."

Dante said when he saw Vergil was sitting in the couch while cleaning the Yamato and polish it to make the silvery blade shone under the dim light of the shop.

"I am aware of that, Dante." Vergil said when looked at the reflection of his blue eyes in the blade. "She would not stay away from Nero for too long."

Yes, no matter what happened, he knew that Rose would always come back for her son. She was just that type of person, and when she returned, he would make sure he had the answer he wanted.


	12. Chapter 12

Rose let out a groan when she lazily threw her suitcase on the floor and lied flat down to her super comfy bed. She had just returned from a hotel from Las Vegas, where the food and the drinks were just simply divine. Their signature chocolate cake called 'The Las Vegas pleasure' had she felt like went to the heaven herself, and judge by the fact she did go there for a short period of time, it spoke something.

And then there was another restaurant she was intending to visit and eating every thing on the menu until her boy Nero decided it was his sweet time to announce her ex and his brother had returned from the Underworld; which successfully making her bailed on her reservation and got her ass hurried to her home.

She just wished he called late or sooner by a couple more hours, when she filled her stomach with the five-star dishes and was in her highest spirit or before she wasted all her time doing her make up and hair. But now, Rose came back to her apartment with no food in her belly and a very low mood while looking shining like a diamond. There go to the drain two hours of her preparing just for the look of the five - star restaurant.

Of course, it wouldn't kill if she just stayed there for a few more hours to eat but with that kind of news dropped on her head, there would be no way Rose could enjoy her food properly.

She should just call Nero and check him out where was he, Rose groaned internally when she pressed on her phone.

"Hey Nero." Rose said when she heard the phone pick up on the other side. "Where are you?"

"Err, I am with Nico." Nero said, Rose could hear the loud music in the back. What were wrong with these kids? Weren't they afraid getting deaf? "Are you back yet?"

"Yes, you want me to come over now?"

"But um,..." Nero paused, she could have swore she heard he was swallowing hard. "Yeah, just come over now."

"Sure, be there in thirty second."

Rose said when she got up from her bed and checked herself in the mirror: her pearly white skin looked even more glowing with the deep red color of the backless dress barely clung on her body was kept on her shoulder by two thin traps, her dark hair was left fallen naturally on her shoulder with the only accessory is a simple rose hairpin. She looked good, Rose thought to herself, but sadly there wouldn't be much people to see it. So Rose decided that she won't even bother to change; it took her two hours to look like this then at least there must be someone else to look at her except the hotel staff, granted even if it was just her son and his friend.

"Hi Nero."

Rose said when she appeared before him, the first thing she noticed that the metal music banging in her ear drum along with the smell of hot pizza flung in her nostrils. She saw Nero eyes widened at her, along with Nico sat next to him on the couch when she said:

"Damn, Miss K. You are smoking hot."

Rose didn't dwell too long on her compliment when she realized she was in the Devil May Cry office. And there was not just Nero and Nico, but the whole squad was there, apparently opening some kind of party. Lady and Trish raised their eyebrow at her when they looked at her very gaudy dress for this whole place, the meter of awkward was high up the roof when she saw Vergil in the corner slightly tilted his head when his gaze was burning holes on her.

"So babe, glad you could come to our party." Dante said when he whistled at her. "I am glad you dress to impress us."

"It's not for you."

Rose said when she finally cut away from Vergil's burning stare and gave Nero one heck of the smack on the head. The young man winced lightly and almost dropped his pizza when he looked up to her, only to gulped and quickly looked down to his pizza when he met with her blazing rage in her eyes. Oh, he was so much in trouble when she got out of this place.

"So what is the occasion that you decided to throw a party?"

Rose said, tried to be casually when she was not. Dante let out a smirk and poured out a drink when he said:

"Just some jobs that we just finished with some hefty paid." Dante said. "And I feel like a party would like up my mood after sometime in Hell."

"Oh."

Rose said when she looked at the pizza and bottles of the alcohol on the table. Not really the dishes she was expecting for tonight but at least, it was something to distract her. But before she could even pour herself a drink, she saw Vergil shifted from the corner of her eyes and swiftly moved right behind her when he said to her ear:

"We need to talk."

Rose blinked and then let out a sigh when she followed him to his room; that was Vergil for you, straight in the face and no dilly dally in the bush.

"Hey, what do you think they will talk about?" Nico nudged Nero in the arm when the sight of his parents disappeared in sight. "Or do they even talk at all?"

"What the hell do you mean?"

"Do you see your mom just now? She is like a fucking beacon for anything that sexually attracted to female. And now she is alone in a room with your dad, what the hell do you think?"

"Shut up, Nico."

Nero could feel his ear heat up at the topic, he did not want to discuss anymore about his parent behind the bedroom or even think about it in the first place. He highly doubted anything like that would happen but just for the sake of his sanity, Nero turned up the music a little bit louder while munching on pizza.

Meanwhile, Rose was sitting at Vergil's bed while trying to be not nervous at all.

"So, what's up?" Rose said when she tried to start a conversation that she wished didn't even exist in the first place.

"Nothing new."

Vergil replied casually much to her surprise, she had half expected it to be something more of a sarcastic remarks or something more dead serious and heavy angst. But his next line making her have to bite down that thought of her.

"Of course, at least to you considered how close you are with V according to what Dante said to me."

Vergil gritted his teeth at the last phrase, yeah, Rose knew where was this going. Vergil would not be happy about his brother knew better than him about anything let alone his own life, even if it was just a short amount of time.

"Err, yeah, I guessed." Rose said.

"Rose." Vergil lowered his voice, a sign to tell her to cut the crap. "Why do you let my memory being erased? What happened between you and V that make him even allowed it in the first place?"

What happened between her and V?

That was definitely a golden question isn't it? She was not sure that she loved him, but the same time, she knew that if she had a chance to be with him for the rest of her life without destroying the world, she would definitely go for it.

And while V deserved the truth about why she don't let Vergil kept his memory, didn't mean Vergil did. After all the things he did to her son and thousand of people, excuse her for being a liar and wanted to have a little revenge at him. So Rose opened her mouth and gave him facts, the facts like his soul was unstable with split and the Qliphoth fruit, all those jazz. Vergil, who was someone believe in power and logical orders would totally love this. It was something easy to understand and made perfect sense for him, so Rose hoped.

"Is that your answer?" Vergil finally asked when she finished.

"Yes, of course." Rose said smoothly, a little too smoothly when she realized it.

Vergil rubbed his thumb on the Yamato, his eyes bore on her face when he traced on the handle of the sword. Rose' heart was beating faster when she saw how his piercing blue eyes looked down on her like a predator looking through his prey. Rose slightly moved her head backward when she saw Vergil moved closer to her, she knew he wouldn't do strike her down or something like that. It would be considered dishonored for him to strike at someone who was defenseless and not willing to fight like she was. But still, it was a normal reaction when Rose knew very well Vergil was still one of most lethal creature that was walking on this world.

But to her surprise, Vergil just simply let the Yamato lied neatly on the nightstand and took off his coat to put it on the hanger. Rose head turned around when she saw he sat next to her and before she knew it, his hand shot out and grabbed the back of her head firmly but not painfully as he bend down and kissed her. Rose eyes widened when she felt his lips pressed hard on hers. And for some reason, when she should think of magic or spell something, anything at all to push him away, she didn't. Her mind went complete blank and she was unable to do anything except to let him just do it.

Rose could feel his kiss on her tighten when she felt her back hit the mattress, his hand left her the back of her head when he traced down to her bare back and pushed her closer to him. Rose shuddered when she felt her back was being rubbed up and down while his tongue licked her lips and demanded for entrance. And Rose, for god know whatever reason, let him.

In the back of her mind, the voice of reason said something about this was really going off the rail and she should stop it while she could. But before Rose could regain her reason, she felt Vergil stopped the kiss abruptly. Rose felt his calloused hand lifted her chin when he whispered harshly in her ear:

"Don't ever lie to me again."

Now, her rationality decided to come back in full force as she quickly pushed him from her and ran away from the blue demon. A lump raise in her throat when she teleported right back to her apartment, her cheeks must have been a fiery shade of red when she felt the heat rise fiercely on its. Rose took a sharp breath when she rubbed her arms, she swore she could still feel the way his touch lingered on her skin. It was like he was right here, all over her in the first place.

Rose took off her clothes when she stepped under the cold shower in hoping that it would erase the traces of him on her. But even when she was practically freezing and out of it, it was still no avail when she could not stop thinking about his ghostly fingers traced all over her skin. Rose let out a groan when she rolled on her bed, what the hell was happening to her?

And what was Vergil thinking when he kiss her like that?

If he was angry about her lying to him, then the reasonable way to react would be like keep on pressing the truth, demanding for it. That would be easier to handle, not the surprise kiss that she couldn't deny for her better judgment. Perhaps there was something wrong with her after that mission, some kind of head trauma or poison got infected like that.

Yeah, that would be right. That would definitely be the reason why she let him kiss her like that in the first place.

She would get her body check the first thing tomorrow, definitely so.

Rose hit the pillow on her head for the thousand times when the sun ray hitting the window to get the image of the pair of blue eyes out of her mind, she definitely had to get a health check up.

...

Rose took a sip of her tea when she looked at the posh woman whom dressed in a professional business dress with a glass on her nose. It was a typical outlook for a psychiatrist, someone who she had been recommended to see after her total check up. Who would have thought, an immortal witch doctor whom lived inside a tree house would give her the business card of a mental doctor after she finished checking her up and announce that there was absolutely no problem with her body.

The only thing that may damage was her mind and obsession with her ex, to which she told Rose really need to a professional help real fast.

When a social distant witch telling you that, you really need to do that.

"So, you are thinking I am nut for acting like that too? Being emotional dependent on him and obsesses on every action he took on me." Rose asked hesitantly after telling her the whole story.

"Well, if you are a human, I would probably tell you that and give you some description along with introducing you with some support group." The doctor said when she smiled at her. "But you are not human, at least, not like the most of us anymore and the things you have been through probably could make any human mentally drastically changed."

"So, you are saying that I am normal in my own way?"

"No, I am saying it's understandable that you are clinging on the things that still existed in your old life considered you lost so much." The doctor said. "You lost your family, the people you knew for the most of your life in the Trap were all dead and almost everyone you know in here forgot you. You have so little stability in your life; your son and his father are probably the only hook left to keep you remember what it felt like to be human."

"So you are saying that what I felt with him was kind of a way of me to overcome my pain and loss."

"That is the question only you know the answer." The doctor said. "And it's my job to help you find it."

Rose looked at the empty cup of tea on her hand when the doctor smiled at her before she hesitantly nodded and got up from her seat. That was a lot more than she had been originally expecting. But nonetheless, Rose had to agree with the doctor; she pointed out a lot of things she never thought of before.

Was she really in love with Vergil that much or she was just in love with the feeling she had back then, when she was a completely different version of her.

A version of her was not go through so much pain and bloodshed, still somewhat wholesome and innocent.

An uncomfortable feeling choked on her throat when Rose thought about what the doctor said, was it the truth, that she was just delude herself all along. That everything she felt with him or with V was all a phantasm.

Rose let out a sigh when she stopped at a bar on the way to her home and decided to get herself a drink. Yeah, she needed to get something to clear her mind with, some fine drinks would do the deeds right. The bar looked clean and decent with warmth light, with not too many people occupied so she found it was easy to find a nice seat. The bartender looked at her with a smile when he asked:

"Rough day?"

"Yeah." Rose said, it was probably all showing on her face. "Can you give me something strong and strange the same time? I need a little bit of change."

"Hmm, let me see."

The bartender said when he thought for a moment before he started a mixing. Rose looked at the glowing blue glass before her face when a small orange flame lit up from it, she smile when the flame was dancing on the surface:

"What is the name?"

"Blue Tear."

"Blue Tear and yet, have a flame on it. Mind explaining?"

"Blue Tears are a naturally occurring phenomenon in East China Sea caused by single-celled microorganisms that give off a bioluminescent glow when they are disturbed, and the larger the collection of them, the more spectacular the light show." Rose eyebrow raise when she saw a young man next to her said when he spinning the blue luminescent drink in his hand. "But these microorganisms that can sap water of its oxygen and produce conditions toxic to other forms of marine life. Like a flame burning on the surface of water."

"Wow, a very thorough and scientific explanation." Rose said. "You are the one came up with a drink?"

"He gave the idea, but I am the one who make it drinkable." The bartender said when he laughed lightly.

"It's good." Rose commented.

"Thanks." The bartender said when he saw another people coming through the door. "Excuse me."

Rose looked back at the young man next to him, she gave him a smile and slightly tilted her head when she said:

"So, are you a marine biologist or something?"

"Yes, kind of." The young man said. "I am Henry."

"Nice to meet you Henry, I am Rose." Rose said when she took a sip of the drink. "I take it you are with the research team that is visiting the Fortuna coast to check on the marine life and measuring the effect of demonic activity on the oceanic life."

"So you heard the news." The young man said. "The news spread wider than I thought."

"Fortuna is a small island and they aren't used to having new faces." Rose laughed lightly. "At least it gets better now. There was a time when people treated new people like a circus freak."

"I know, I stayed here for a brief time for studying when the Order still around." Henry said. "You are a native here?"

"No, I just moved recently to stay closer with my family." Rose said. "So you moved to this place when the Order was around and then moved out shortly after that; they must not really like it."

"Yeah, they didn't. The Order disliked any kind of changing, and I almost never make out of here." Henry said when he looked at the glass. "Must say, I am not surprise when they are called as cultists nowadays."

"So do you saw any changes in Fortuna that surprise you?"

"Not much, if anything it was easier to breathable in here when a lot less people looked at me like a weirdo when I wore jeans and t-shirt." Henry leered through his drinks. "Of course, there are some new faces that I really fancying to know better."

Not bad, Rose thought to herself, said something like that so casually and nice without sounded creepy or weird. And he was not bad looking either, in fact, when Henry smiled he looked he had this really cute dimple that she was totally into. So Rose smiled brightly at this and continue to chat with him, it was nice having a company to take her mind off something so serious. Just a casual company of course, some flirting and nice chat, nothing more or less.

When Rose and Henry finally left the bar, it was already pretty late and they were both kind of tipsy. Henry was being a perfect gentleman, called a cab and offered to ride with her to her apartment. Rose found there was no reason to deny, she had thoroughly enjoyed his company so far in the whole night and wouldn't mind giving a little more time. From what Henry told her, he was going to leave this island for the next few days anyway and there was a chance that they never met again.

Rose looked at Henry next to her and smiled sweetly at him when she bid him goodbye:

"Good night, Henry. I have a wonderful time tonight."

"Me too." Henry said when he touched her cheeks lightly. "Mind giving me a good night kiss?"

Rose giggled when she leaned towards him and kissed him on the cheeks, she was expecting was nice and comfortable warmth engulfed her like she felt the whole night. But what she felt then, it was completely horrible.

Her lips felt like it was burnt by fire when she touched his lips, she felt rigid and painful when a searing noise screamed on her ear and something felt like a heavy metal chain just wrapped it tightly around her body.

Rose's first thought was that this young man here was a supernatural in disguised and tried to kill her. But then she saw the confusion in his brown eyes when she abruptly pulled back, she knew that this was just a normal human boy. So Rose pressed down the uncomfortable nauseous rise in her stomach when she said:

"Bye Henry."

Rose didn't care about Henry's look of concern when she ran like fire on her ass back to her room, she quickly throw her head over the toilet and started to vomit. The pain and cramps within her body was somewhat reduced when Rose let out everything in her stomach go in the toilet. The bitter and sour smell filled her senses when she let out a final choke before she cling on the sink and got up to see herself in the mirror.

Stared back at her in the silver mirror, Rose saw a messy woman with dark lines under her eyes, her make up smeared on her face when the cold sweats running all over her face as the black mass that was her hair clung on her face.

"What the fuck?"

Rose said when she quickly washed her face and mouth to get rid of the horrible feeling rose inside her. She looked even worst when she returned from Red Grave, and that was when she almost died with burnt and blood covered all over her.

Suddenly, another searing pain engulfed on her chest, like somebody was squeezing her heart out and intended to rip it opened made Rose choked on her breath when she fell down on the floor and held tightly on her chest.

"_Somebody, please help."_

Rose thought when a more intense sharp pain tore through her chest, she could feel tears running down on her cheeks, her arms and legs was twitching around as she was having a convulsion. She wanted to call Maraka, Nero, Kyrie, anyone at all to help her but she couldn't reach for the phone that was laying on the bed that was too far for her too reach in this state.

"_Please help me."_

Rose tried to call out but her throat restricted tightly like an invisible hands was choking on her. The last thing she could register that a flash of silver appeared in her eyes before her body shut down on it own.


	13. Chapter 13

Cold.

That was what Rose thought when she felt something stroke on her face. And yet, she felt herself welcome it as it was quickly reduced the pain in her body. Then she felt something was put on her mouth: a warm liquid that had metal smell with saltiness edge on it was slowly pouring on her mouth. It took a while for her to pinpoint that it was when the liquid was coming in her mouth was blood.

She was drinking on blood.

Rose weakly opened her eyes she took a sharp breath, the pain still lingered on her body but it felt more tolerable now. She then looked up to see a familiar blue eyes looking at her:

"Vergil."

Rose voice came out as hoarse and ruff like someone had just shoved a bag of coal into her throat. She saw Vergil cut his thumb again for the blood to flow out when the wound on his skin healed and put it in her mouth again.

"Keep on drinking, it is helping you." His brow slightly scrunched when he lightly squeezed her shoulder as Rose was trying to speak. "You are in no condition to even talk properly."

Rose tiredly licked on his bloody thumbs when she felt the taste of blood overcome her sense again. She should feel disgusted by this, or even weird out by how the heck in the work drinking blood work like some magical aspirin for her. But Rose was too tired and in so much pain that she couldn't care any more.

As the pain was subsided significantly in her body, Rose tried her best to sit up when she realized she was resting her head in her ex lap as they were both comfortably positioned themself on the bed; but he easily pushed her down when he said:

"Stay here, I am not in the mood of picking you up from the floor."

"Then could just put me on the bed instead of your lap?" Rose pointed out flatly.

"I don't want to." Vergil replied when he lifted up her chin. "You were with a male last night?"

"How do you know?"

Right the moment she said that, Vergil expression changed significantly. His brows knitted even tighter that his eyebrows almost became a line, his jaw clenched together tightly as veins she didn't knew exist on his face popped out of his forehead. Just when Rose intended to say something about he was being overdramatic, she immediately shut up when the human facade of him ripped off and replaced with a demon one.

Rose saw his Devil Trigger Form once when she was young, but this time it was completely different. He still had those blue scales with those horns on his head, but there were those wings folded spreaded behind his back with blue icy glow and cold swirling mist.

"Is that a tail?"

Rose asked when she saw something swinging behind his back that did not blocked by giant wings. But Vergil didn't say anything, instead he wrapped his talon around her neck. It did not wound her or anything, but it was definitely not comfortable when there were like five knives wrapped around her neck.

"Vergil, what's wrong?"

Rose carefully asked when she felt his tail wrapped around her torso as the cold air making her slightly shivered.

"Vergil, is there something bothering you?"

Rose asked again carefully, she knew Vergil enough to know that he was not some jealousy freak that blew up when his ex just simply being with someone else, to the point of losing control of his own body. Vergil wasn't like that, he was all about self control and disciple, he would never let anything or anyone at all affected him in this way. So whatever that was happening to him, it was a lot more serious.

Suddenly the cold disappeared as well as the grip on her torso when a human hand left her throat when Vergil said:

"That is something I would want to know too."

...

Rose poured out some tea on the pristine white cup with Vergil standing in her house with the Yamato on his hips. This was so weird, Rose thought when she gave Vergil a cup of tea, that they were sitting here at her kitchen seemed to be so casually when just a moment ago, a certain demon just transformed himself in her bed room.

"This thing should help you calm down your nerves." Rose said. "And mine too."

She blew the hot tea slowly before took a sip of it, her nerves feel some sort of soothing, didn't knew if it was the tea or just the mentally effect.

"So, mind telling me what exactly happened to you?" Rose asked.

"Ever since returning from Hell, I have been having certain cravings."

"What kind of craving?"

"The ones that navigate more toward my demonic side." Vergil said slowly when he looked at his tea cup. "I crave for blood, feel more territorial toward over certain matter and I am easily provoked than I should have. At first, these problems are not much to put into thought as it was to be expected when I returned from Hell and as I am adapting to Earth, most those cravings have gone down significantly."

"Most of it then? So what is still remained?"

Vergil looked at Rose silently, she immediately took out her mirror to check out if there was anything on her face and heard Vergil's exasperate sigh when he said:

"You are two thousand years old and still can't take a simple hint?"

Rose took a good moment to think hard what he meant then she realized something.

"Are you saying that you are horny?" Rose asked hesitantly. Vergil face darkened but he did not say anything to deny it.

"Well, technically speaking, sexually need is something both demon and human have. And after like years of not having, errr, release it will be quite normal for anyone to feel the need to do so." Rose awkwardly said. "Since you are very handsome man, if you really needed it that bad, I am sure there will be many suitable ladies who are willingly to..."

"It is not simply about intercourse." Vergil cut in coldly whatever Rose was trying to say. "My need is exclusive on you and only you."

Rose felt herself for this time completely lost of words. If it was any other time, she would have thought that he was flirting or anything like that. But this, the way he was so uncomfortable and almost ashamed about his reveal making her realized, Vergil was telling the truth and that he had no control over it.

"I don't know why, but my infatuation with you ever returning from Hell has only increased instead of decreased unlike my other primal urge. I suspect it must have been something happen between you and V."

"We are partner and..." Rose slightly paused before she continued. "Lover. Yes, we do have intimate actions but it was nothing more than that. There was nothing we had done that had any more than what you and me had done in the past. Or do you think I put a charmed on you or something like that?"

Rose asked when she felt a slight betrayal and anger at her heart, if he thought of her so low like that, this conversation ended now.

"Like I said, I don't know nor have any speculation." Vergil said. "The only thing for sure that unless I could get access to my full memory, I couldn't know what exactly happen to me or even to you last night. You don't really think I was just happening to walk into your room when you passed out like that."

"You mean you know I was in pain. How?"

"I could feel it. I don't know why but I just could." Vergil said. "And I feel like what happened to you last night, it is connected deeply to my condition."

Rose nodded her head, she got what he meant, both of their condition happened about the same time after their time together, it was too much of a coincidence. But then again, she could not think of anything that she and V do that may cause this. Not like they were having any magical bonding rituals or anything, hell, she was not dumb enough to do anything like that with V to mess up with the future.

But in the back of her head, there was some itch. An itch that showed itself when Rose remembered her last moments with V.

"Hey, does demon have something like a marriage or something like that?" Rose asked just for the sake of it. "Or is it just something that only human have?"

"Despite what human thought of demons as vile and sadistic, we do have our own culture and ethnicity." Vergil said when he gave a sharp glance. "Nero said you have made some demons as friends, I thought you would know better than this."

"Well, one is practically asexual and a monk; another is an alpha female temptress whom have sex with her own offspring so those two are not really a good reference for demonic marriage." Rose said when she rubbed her neck. "So, how does marriage in Hell work?"

"First, marriage is a concept that only appeared for the high class of demons and even among them, it is considered quite rare for demon to do such things. Unlike human, marriage in Hell held a lot of rule and bound in many ways that was impossible to betray without suffer horrendous effect." Vergil paused slightly. "The ritual of Hell Marriage is also a lot more complex and stronger than on human on Earth. First, the partners must be equally and on par with each other on term of power and strength, take it physically or mentally. Then, a certain courting ritual that involved the proving each other strength and worthiness of being each other partner will be conducted with another high demon as witness. When the two demons decided that they are worthy to be each other partner, a match will be decided to choose who will be the one that yield a part of their soul to the other one and who will receive the other one's part of soul."

"Wait, what about all the equality and stuff like that? Why now there is a submission? And a soul too?" Rose asked.

"It's not the submission but the yielding, the act of accepting of being in a role of the one who have a piece of their own soul in the relationship. The one who is more sensible and protective of newly bond." Vergil said. "Like I said, the demonic marriage held by much more rules than human's one, so much that it needed a piece of soul of the one participate in it to ensure its existence. That's why the concept of it is so rare, cause there is barely any demon found a partner that it is worth it to give up a part of their soul for."

"So technically, when demon found their suitable partner, they are beating the crap of each other until the one who lost give a part of their soul to one who wins."

"It's not that simple." Rose could hear the familiar annoyance in Vergil's voice. "It is not just about the outcome of the match, it's about the one demon accepting the other's strength and power to protect the precious soul part that was given, not because of they are the losing side. The one demon that yields their soul must give their soul willingly and happily with all their heart by the specific code of words."

"So what are the set of words?" Rose asked.

"It could vary different from different demons, like the human vow but much more direct. But often at all, it needed to include the part where one demon accepting a part of their soul belongs to another one."

This piece of news successfully made Rose felt like she was just hitting by the truck and her anxiety just shot through the roof. Screw the tea and shit, she really needed some strong vodka pumped in her veins to calm down.

"Let's just say hypothetically speaking." Rose swallowed hard when she tried to find the word. "Without all the matches, witnesses and things like that, one demon just casually said they belonged to another demon. So will the marriage is successful with that or it just gone to the drain because the lacking of steps?"

"No demon could ever do that." Vergil said, his face's slightly scrunched up as if the idea was the most ridiculous one. "A soul is very important, and demon knows its value very well. So no, there is not a single chance that a demon who would give it up, even a part of it so easily without the other partner proved their worth like that."

"I said hypothetically speaking." Rose said. "Just indulge me, tell me the answer. Will the marriage success or not?"

"The whole rituals of each other competing and showing each other strength is to get where to have one accepting to give their soul to another. So yes, hypothetically speaking, the marriage is complete even if just one demon willingly gives their soul to another without a trial."

Fuck.

The only thought appeared in Rose when she stared blankly at Vergil when his brow knitted at her, when the wheel of his brain was turning when he was wondering why she would choose to ask about the marriage in Hell in all of this time. So she decided before the light bulb on his head lighten up, she would grab her strongest bottle of alcohol and chuck it in her mouth.

Because she was so not prepared for the new piece of information.

"You yield your soul to V."

Vergil said when he saw Rose looked like she was about to pass out when she just nearly poured the whole bottle of alcohol in her throat. Rose let out a desperately sigh when she put down the bottle on the table:

"Hey, you were saying about demon soul and stuff so maybe a human like me..."

"Soul is soul. Granted, human body normally can't take it when a part of their soul ripped off like that but your body is not normal." Vergil cut in coldly. "What exactly have you and V done?"

"He asked me to be his, and I say yes. Simple like that." Rose said. "And before you said anything about my foolishness, please aware that we just went through a very stressful and near death experience and we were about to part with each other forever. So normally, like any normal human being, I just thought he was being romantic and I got into the mood. Not like I thought he would scam me into marriage or anything like that."

"I will not in any form or shape ever, ever trick anyone into the marriage of Hell." Vergil was practically roared at her when his eyes were turning a blaze, a sign of him in verge of turning. "Don't say something that you don't know."

"Oh, sorry that I made you felt so angry and being offended when I said something wrong about a whole completely culture that I don't even know so well." Rose said sarcastically. "How come I be so insensitive and not thoughtful, it is not like I stuck in a demonic marriage that I didn't know exist in the first place with the asshole that dumb me like trash years ago."

"Don't talk to me like in that tone of your."

"OHHH, can't wait to show off his superiority now, _your highness_." Rose spitted words out like it was venom. "Sorry but this place can't hold your high authority anymore. Get the fuck out of my house. Now."

"Gladly."

Vergil said when he cut a portal in the middle of the air when Rose angrily hit her fist at the table stone. It was fucking painful and she was sure some of her bones broken in there but it were worth it; her mind was cooling down cause of the pain and she managed to think slightly better. Rose rubbed her fist when she started to find in her library, instead of standing here and whining like a wimping kid, she would find a way to end this mess.

...

"A Hellish Marriage." Maraka said when he poured himself a glass of wine. "It could be quite troublesome."

"Yeah, I know. But is there a way to reverse or cut it, without killing anyone." Rose asked when she took a sip of her wine. "So far from what I read for the last couple of days, the only way to take apart for a couple marries in Hell way was literally death and I don't want it to go to that."

"Naturally, any kind of contract coming from Hell always held a lot of power and strength in it, like the demonic contract where human and demon take part in to exchange for power and soul. And a marriage is also a contract, but it also conducts so much more emotion and bonds that both party poured into it. And from what you told me, it didn't help that both side take part in is so willingly with their heart and mind even if they didn't know exactly what they are going for."

"But the one I willingly gave my soul to is V, not Vergil. Is there any kind of loop hole I can take advantage of?"

"Coming to think about it, there might be." Maraka said thoughtfully. "I do know a ritual of retracting a part of soul that is separated from the owner but it is known to be extremely painful and required massive concentration. And since the one who held your soul is another living soul, you will need his permission to do that, or else you may risk wounded both of your souls together."

"Asking for his help is not really that easy since I kind of kicking him out of my house." Rose ruffled her head. "Fuck, I am too old for impulsive marriage."

"Talking about that, there is something I must warn you." Maraka said. "Are you sure you really want to end this bond?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you are an immortal since your soul is not easy to be given easily like that, even or part of it with or without your knowing it. So when you said that you want to belong to V, you meant it honestly without a single of hesitation or doubt. That kind of devotion is very rare for us to feel, Rose, mortal or not. You sure you want to destroy it without even trying to find out more about it." Maraka slightly paused at this. "I may step the line when I am saying these lines, but as your senior and an immortal fellow, I think you should think again your decision. If I was in your position, I would want to try to see this through more."

"We have a long life Rose, longer than most of the people around us and that mean that we often regret about the things we don't do than the things we do." Maraka sighed when he looked at the reddish liquid. "Just keep it in mind."

Rose looked at Maraka when she took another sip of wine, she was still fucking pissed at Vergil and now V in this marriage shit. But Maraka had a point, Rose may have jumped into conclusion about these whole thing too soon. She was trying to end it too early in her anger, not even trying to think twice about the damage it may do to her and Vergil.

Or Nero, cause no matter what happened, he was _their son_.

Rose sighed when she bid Maraka goodbye, she need to face him. But after a phone call the Devil May Cry office, she got the news that Vergil was gone with wind and not staying at his brother place for a few days. Not like that it was anything unusual, Dante told her, he was always off to somewhere and only showed up sometime when there was a job or looking burnt out.

And considered that his brother still using landlines, Rose highly doubted that he even had a cell phone with him.

So Rose had no way to contact him and she was probably had to wait patiently until he returned from wherever he gone to.

As if.

Rose found herself in a bar nearby, she smiled sweetly at a very cute guy was sitting there alone and asked politely:

"Hey, I am doing a challenge with my friend to go talk and kiss with a cutest guy in the bar. Do you mind helping me? Of course, if you are in any kind of relationship, I will be off right now."

"No, I am single. And sure."

The cute guy smiled brightly at her when he leaned in, a very hot girl asked to kiss him, any single straight guy would say yes. Right the moment their lips touched, Rose could feel a searing pain shot in her body and a sense of nauseous. However thanks to mentally preparation, Rose could still smile and say thank to the guy before get into a dark corner and teleported to her room.

It didn't took long for Vergil to appear, she was still in the process of having an seizure and about taking step in passing out in pain when she felt herself being picked up and having his thumb shoved into her mouth.

When Rose managed to have herself conscious enough, she tugged in Vergil sleeve when she barely breathed out:

"We need to talk." Rose said out. "And you really need to get a phone, man."


	14. Chapter 14

"So first off, there is a way to reverse this whole marriage thing."

Rose announced that fact to him first when she was good enough to sit up on her bed; she need to tell him about this quick to prevent Vergil doing any thing drastic like stabbing himself in the chest and risking the world peace. God know that if he was already digging a way to break it, like the way she did the last days.

"It required some kind ritual and extremely painful but good news for you, the pain is for me exclusively and I am good at bearing pain." Rose said. "But, it needed your cooperation and willingness for it to success."

"What make you think I would want to end the marriage?"

"The way you gritted the word 'marriage' like it is burning on your tongue." Rose sighed. "Look, I hate the way thing ended the last time we discussed about it, I really do. And since I am two thousand years old, I should be the one whom act better than a two year old throwing tantrum; which is by the way kind of embarrassing now that I am thinking about it more. So can we just let the bitterness and anger out to discuss this peacefully?"

"Only when you are not loosing your sense again." Vergil said icily.

"Right, right, I get it." Rose held her hands up. "So Vergil, from what I see so far; this marriage is just like having tattoo on your face, it is super messed up and could be erased. Sure there will be some scar but better that than stuck with someone drove you mad for the rest of your life."

"You don't always drive me mad, the displeasure belonged to Dante." Vergil grunted.

"Right, I will see this as a compliment then." Rose said "But even so, we have a lot of trouble from our past, and we are like completely different people we are now to who we used to know. I even agreed to marry a completely different version of you. So I ask you this Vergil, do you want to destroy this marriage before any of us get wounded by it even more or just stick with it for a while a little bit longer? Just to see if it maybe, just maybe not turns out to be such a disaster."

Rose asked Vergil carefully, she was not just giving him the choice that he wanted to make out of their relationship; but also to make sure that they could finally move on from their haunting past and pain, whether alone or together.

Vergil said nothing but just stared at her before he spoke calmly.

"You are right, the person you agreed to give your soul for is V and not me." Vergil said, finally seemed to compromise. "So it is only normal to feel overwhelmed for both of us as the person in the marriage was not right partner. But to asset the situation we are in more correctly, don't you think it would be appropriate for me to remember why I am as V was thinking when he was proposing to you?"

Now this was also a thought crossed her mind, Rose nodded, she would too want to know what the heck in V head when he just casually asked her into something like that.

"I have some note and research about reviving lost memories." Rose answered. "It is a long shot and the memory you got may not be very clear and wholesome but I think it is better than nothing."

"I agree." Vergil replied. "If you have already researched about it, I take it you could perform it."

"Yes, but it would require some preparation and you will have to stay in a secluded place for a few days so I could monitor the changes of your mind. Magic about memory could be tricky, especially when we try to reverse the spell of someone powerful like the Death itself. Even in the most perfect rituals, it could always lead to some serious side affect so I can't really let you just running around in town with a sword when your head could be possibly messed up."

Not to mention, Rose thought grimly, Vergil's mentality was not the best in the moment considered all the torture Mundus put him through in Hell.

"I understand. So when can you ready for the ritual?"

"I supposed if we have to do this then we have to do as soon as we could. So can you start at tomorrow night?"

"I will be arranging my schedule immediately. If anything changes, I will call you."

"By your brother's landlines." Rose sighed. "Seriously Vergil, get a cellphone. Even the eighty years old woman lives downstairs has one to call her grandkid."

"It is not important to me right now."

Rose sighed internally again when she saw Vergil stood up and slashed a portal again, that's practically he was saying 'I have no need or any interest to get a cell phone for now or the near future.'

Well, a cell phone could wait since she pretty sure he would show up in front of her door soon so now what Rose needed to do was getting some ingredients as well as some tomes for the spell to be done. And also she needed to make sure that night no one would be disturbing her so she must find a safe place to do so.

So much to do, and yet she had unknowingly prepared most of the ingredients in her house when she was researching the way to cut this marriage. Reviving memories spell after all was a kind of spell that interacting with one's soul and mind like the spell of cutting soul bond, the main difference was mainly its result and way of doing it. One spell was meant to dive deeply and pull out the buried memory or find scraps of it still remained; other was to tear right to the soul and cut a bond attached deep in the core.

Of course, both of the spell would brought disastrous consequences if it failed or not executed carefully enough.

Rose scratched her head when she read about the possible aftermath and how to fix it, most of it was irreversible and permanent, almost impossible to fix. To anyone, included herself; if they hearing about these side effects, they would surely hesitate or even back down from this ritual. But this was Vergil; a man that was willing to cut his own soul in half just to not feeling pain any more, those consequences didn't seemed matter much. So when Rose saw his passive face as she was explaining to him how this thing done and possible wound he may receive, it was already in her prediction to hear his answer:

"Very well." Vergil said coolly. "It is an acceptable risk."

"If you say so."

Rose said when she pulled out a wand and waved it at the big mirror on the wall. The surface slightly wavering before the reflection changed into a pure white mist when she put out her hand:

"Come on, grab my hand."

The sensation of his hand engulfed hers felt a little bit weird for her, it felt rough and hard like a stone but had a decent warm with a strange sense of tingling. Rose slightly shook the idea out of her head when she pulled him through the mirror to get inside the chamber she prepared.

"Fascinating."

Vergil said when he looked around, they were in a wide round room made by white stone with waves pattern. There were a large metal shelters on the wall with all kind of jars and bottles on it, along with some book arranged neatly on it. There was also a small wooden with some tomes with pen and papers across it, with quite a large stack of book and grimoires on it. And at the other side, there was a small bed and a chair with floral pattern on it. The entire room was filled with warm golden light radiated from the chandeliers shaped like lily on the ceiling.

Knowing her sense of style, Vergil felt slightly amused that there was not anything involved flower more in this room.

Vergil touched the wall and knocked on it slightly, with his experience about opening portals and cutting space, he knew that this was not a normal room. This place was in fact a wrapped space, a place exist in between the barriers of world. It was a much more difficult to create a wrapped space than a pocket dimension, as the creator needed to cut the barrier of the world and then created a small bubble space right in the cut with a very powerful precision. If they misplaced it just a little bit, the cut in the barrier would be unstable and create a black that could destroy one city.

Vergil let a small dry chuckle when he thought about how many high ranking demon-witches called themself superior over human witch or any human at all and yet, they still cowered at the idea of a wrapped space. The look of their face would be very interesting, as a human could build something that they wouldn't be able to even dream about.

But again, she was not really human anymore. Not exactly.

"Very impressive wrapped space, I must say." Vergil said. "But I must say, it is almost impossible to build this place perfectly just over night."

"Yes, I started to make this after returning to this world but only giving it the final touch recently." Rose said when she started to pull out several herbs and glowing liquids from the cabinet on the wall and mixing it. "I need some place where that provided some safety and secrecy to test out my magic and experiments, at first I thought a pocket space would be fine but then I got carried away and this place was created instead. Not that I complain though."

"The wall is very sturdy even for demon, but I failed to sense any kind of demonic energy in it. What is it?" Vergil answered when he slightly touched the wall.

"Some Summerian Stone and remain of empty Atlantis crystal mixing together. It is a hassle to deal with at first but result is worth it." Rose said when she held a silver chalice that was filled with glowing green liquid in it. "Alright, now drink this and lie on the bed please."

Vergil looked at the chalice on her hand, the water slightly shifted color under the golden light as the green smoke flew on the surface.

"I know it look kind of suspicious but..."

Before Rose could finish her line, Vergil's hand had already grabbed the cup before he emptied it completely.

"Does lying down on the bed necessary?"

"Well, the portion you took is very strong. I am surprise that you still conscious." Rose said when she sat on the bed and patted to the spot next to her. "If you are uncomfortable lying down than just sitting is fine."

Vergil nodded when he sat next to her. The Yamato was put on his knee as his hands held tightly on it; if it was anyone else participate this ritual, she would tell them to stay away from anything sharp let alone such dangerous weapon like the Yamato as they could potentially hurt themself. But Rose knew how much this sword meant to Vergil, it was probably the only things left from his father.

It may be one of the few things that could give him some peace and calm.

"Just relax and take a deep breath."

Rose said when she could see the vein of his forehead popped up, his hand gripped tightly on the handle of the Yamato as his jaw clenched tightly. The portions seemed to take the effect; it was already piercing through his soul.

"Vergil, I know it is hard and painful but don't fight it. Accept it and I promise you, everything will be fine." Rose said she saw Vergil took short breath. "It's okay, it will be fine. Everything will be fine."

"_Everything will be fine, V"_

Vergil shuddered when he heard a voice whispered in his ear, he saw Rose rubbed his neck lightly but not the one whom sat next to him awhile ago. Vergil looked down to see his bare chest covered with dark mark like tattoos, where it was raising and falling with each breath that felt like a sharp pain in his body. Rose smiled at him, a smile that he hadn't seen for decades when she stroke a lock of his hair and kissed the lobe of his ear. The pain and exhaustion that were always there, haunting on his feeble and deteriorating body as he was V, was lessen significantly as the sparks on her finger tips lightly grazed again his kin.

He felt his finger, or more likely, V's fingers combed through her hair when he kissed her jaws and traced down to her neck when he took a deep sigh at it. Her skin was so soft, Vergil thought when he nuzzled his nose again it.

"_I know, because you are here."_

He heard her deep giggled at his words when the tips of her fingers traced the mark of his chest as it was pulsating through his skin like it had a mind of it own. In some way, it did.

"_Does it hurt, when you call them out?"_ The black haired beauty asked when she rested her head on his shoulder.

"_A little."_ He held her closer to him. _"But more like a drop of salt into the sea to what I have always felt."_

"_I see."_

Rose whispered when she kissed on his neck again. Vergil felt uncomfortable, not at the sensation he was feeling but about the memory itself. It was like he was seeing things that didn't belong to him but someone else when he saw her black eyes stared as him. How strange, that it suddenly reminded that the Rose he knew no longer looked him like that anymore.

He didn't know what the look she gave him was, but not like this.

Not like a partner who she trusted and worry for.

Not like a lover whom to share love and care.

Not like V.

Vergil opened his mouth to take a sharp breath when a cold shudder wrapped around his body as he saw his mind back the reality's land, where the Yamato was held tightly in his hand and the Rose he knew looked at him with concern when she slightly tilted her head.

"Did you see a memory?"

Rose asked hesitantly when she remembered the blank look of Vergil's face just then. A sense of dread raise in her chest when she realized this was not right; the portion should have take a lot longer to take effect on his mind. Vergil should only see V's memory after at least 5 hours after drinking it, not five minutes.

Perhaps Rose underestimated the wound on his soul too lightly and she had made the portion too strong for his soul. Scenarios played in her head of what could go wrong but she decided to not act on it when she saw the way Vergil looked at her:

"If you saw his memory, I supposed I should take my leave then."

Vergil nodded, his body almost winced at losing her warmth next to him. But he knew it was better this way, when his mind was going in and out V's memory to see a version of her treating him so different. He needed to be alone, to arranging his rampaging memories again and perhaps like she said, to figure out what to do with the two of them.

Vergil eye saw she disappeared in the mirror on the wall, the air felt silent as he found himself completely alone in the room. Vergil decided that he should lie down when he took off his boots and coat just to felt more comfortable, but the Yamato still held tightly on his hand. The mattress felt so soft underneath him when he laid his back on it, and Vergil could catch a whip of the owner room owner in his sharp nose.

He felt his vision slightly spinning as the familiar pain and exhaustion in V body took over him again, but so the presence of a certain black eyed lady came back to him. He saw her smile at him when she was eating something like eggs and bacon. She was always smiling like that to V, Vergil thought when he felt his hand reached out and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

...

"So, you know what's up with Vergil lately?"

Nero asked when he helped brought out some food to the table in his backyard as Rose was setting the table while Kyrie getting the kid in the lunch.

"Last time I check, he is still sleeping and dreaming." Rose said. "What's wrong? Getting worry for him already?"

"Nah, just want to check whether if he is plotting destroy the world for the third time."

"Dang, and I was betting with Lady what you did with his corpse: burnt it or buried it." Nico butted in.

"Hey, that is not funny." Nero shot out.

"Hey, it's a joke, take it easy, butthead." Nico said back. "We just say, your daddy had gone for too long now."

"Alright, alright kids, no need to be fighting." Rose raised her voice when she saw Nero and Nico about getting in another of their quarrels. "You all know that I am a two thousand years old magician that has tons of tricks in my sleeves. If I want to kill the father of my son, you all will not even remember what his name let alone suspect me doing it. So cool off now and let get some thing in those hot bellies of yours."

Nero bite down on his tongue when he realized that she was telling the truth; with all of her magic thingy, his mother could absolutely erase somebody existence without them even noticed. Well, it was good to know that she was on the good side because hell, Nero would have to go to asylum if he had not one but two parents trying to destroy the world.

Rose looked at Nero's ears slightly redden when she gave him a glance, the kid was worried for his dad alright. But of course not because he afraid she was trying to kill his father or anything (he knew she got a better moral than that), but Vergil had been off the radar for too long that anyone included his rugged brother had been wondering about him.

Rose remembered last week she had received a call from a certain red devil, asking about how long his "dumbass brother has to sleep his ass off." Even Dante noticed it by now, which meant everyone was extremely concern about him and it just added to her stress even more. Cause from the look of things with her magic went of the rail from the very first beginning in this very dangerous ritual, she didn't even know what would happen next to Vergil. So far, she had been casting spell that ease up his mind, burning candle and herbs that help smoothen the mind and soul to help with his struggle.

And it didn't seem to help a lot when Vergil in his short time of conscious did not want to have anyone nearing him, let alone talk to her. Most of the time she asked about how his body felt or what he saw, the answers she got was short sentences and silent grunts before he was practically kicking her out of there. She didn't even have a decent guideline to fix him if anything was wrong with him, which Rose suspected that there was.

Oh my mama, Rose groaned internally; if anything happened to Vergil, everyone included her son will think that she made it happen.

Just thinking about that making Kyrie delicious chicken became slightly less tasty than usual in her mouth.

"God, please still breathing."

Rose whispered when she went into the mirror to see Vergil laid still on his bed, a little bit too still to her nerve. She touched on the pulse on his neck, it was slower than normal but it was nothing serious. Guess the herbs she gave him finally worked, Rose thought when she let out a relieved breath, it finally calmed down his body. Last time she check on him, both his pulse and heat was sky rocket that Rose almost think that she had to throw him into the Arctic Ocean to cool him off.

Rose shook her head lightly when she moved toward her table and started to make another portion, since this formula seemed to be working pretty well for him, she thought that maybe making more of it will be good for future.

As the portion was turning into an icy blue color glowing with white light, Rose suddenly heard a movement on the bed. She looked up to see Vergil had already sat up when he rubbed his forehead, the normal scowl continued to make its way to his face.

"How do you feel?"

Rose asked when she walked to him slowly, looking for a sign to see if he was discomfort with her presence like every other time in here. To be honest, it was to be expected as he was seeing V fucking with her and then come back here and well, to be awkward as them again.

"Fine."

Vergil replied shortly when he sucked another deep breath and poured himself some water from bottle on the closet nearby. Rose asked when he put down the glass:

"You hungry?"

"Not really." Vergil said but then stopped. "But I would be thankful for some soup."

So he must really craving for some food, Rose thought when she watched as he put on his coat and boots on before standing straight up. And look like he got all the memories he needed, Rose thought, that's Vergil for you: never dallied around long when he got his goal done.

Normally she would advice anyone to stay in bed and rest even more after their mind just went through a roller coaster like that. But this was Vergil, a hard headed ass that nobody could ever tell him what to do except for probably his long gone parents; who the hell she was to tell him what to do.

But the moment Rose felt the chilling wind blew from the window of her apartment and she let go of his hand, she felt a firm and gentle grip on her wrist slightly pulled her back. Rose turned around to see Vergil was looking at her, for the first time his blue eyes didn't hold the usual coldness but something else. Rose didn't dare to say something like tenderness or love, but it was something different. More human.

More like V.

"Do you mean it?" Vergil asked when he let go of her wrist, his eyes scanned her face carefully. "If I asked for your hand back then, would you say yes?"

"No." Rose replied when she looked down at her hand. "I can never say yes, because you never ask Vergil. Because none of those things happened."

"You said different things with V."

"Because you are not V."

When Rose saw the look on Vergil and how sharp she must have sounded, Rose forced herself to take a deep breath and kept herself calm. Hurting him won't make she felt any better and the two of them had already suffered too much. And she was old, Rose thought, she must be wiser than this. Especially at this very moment.

"The truth is I don't know." Rose said when she softened her voice down. "Back then we were a couple of teenager whom got way over head with loads of thing and so many errors in our fragile relationship. I didn't even know you are the son of Sparda, the famous Devil Hunter that we had been researching for months. And you didn't know that I possessed the heart that could give you all the power that you could ever dream of if you choose to consume it."

"I would never..."

"I know, okay, you would never do that. Not when you are yourself." Rose said. "The point is our relationship was built on lies and secrets, it was barely holding on in the first place. If things played out in the best scenarios, if none of us fucked up our thing or get killed; then maybe I would say yes. But the thing is; that was a lot of big ifs and none of us ever gave it any chances to the beginning with, Vergil. And it did happen a long time ago, for both of us. What I said to V, I honestly mean it by my soul but at the same time, I don't think or even dare to believe it could happen in whatever scenario."

"You didn't give V a chance, you gave him your soul when he asked you to be his."

"And since we are talking about it now, mind telling me what the heck was going on his head when he did that?"

Rose said when she crossed her arms before her chest. If V was still here, she would definitely give him a good smack in the head for daring to do such a thing to her. It was a fucking Hell Marriage, where nothing, like literally nothing but death could tear them apart. That was one heck of a commitment she took without even knowing it about.

"He didn't think about it." Vergil said, the look on his face looked like he was almost embarrassed by what he said. "He was, the same thing as you said, engrossed in the situation and emotion."

"You mean, he was just asking about me marrying him without thinking about the Hell rituals and demonic bonds thingy." Rose asked in wide eyes. "Seriously, he forgot his own race ideal of marriage? For real? I thought you were supposed to be the one who got brain. A good one."

"It is V and..."

"Considered the fact that Urizen was a meat lump just sitting under a tree doing nothing while V conjuring a plan that made him not disappear into thin air as he was dying, I would say V was your brain, Vergil."

Rose slightly chuckled when she heard Vergil's exasperated sigh though there was nothing much funny about their situation. But still, the air felt slightly less dense as she tugged on his sleeve when she guided him to her kitchen table:

"Hey, let's just get you some food first." Rose said when she opened her refrigerator. "With your body and mind has been strained for quite some time now, eating something healthy would help your healing and recovery better. I got some mushroom soup, sound good?"

Vergil gave her a silent nod when he put the Yamato next to him, he looked at smoking soup just got heat up before him; the aroma of food made his stomach twisted lightly and reminded how hungry and tired he was. He looked at the dark haired woman before his eyes, no matter in what memories, present or past; there would always be this warmth and kindness radiated from her like sun rays filled every where she went.

He still remembered vividly in his last memory of V and her, how V didn't mean for this marriage to happen; he was not even thinking about the possibilities of when he asked her in the first place. What V wanted that time was just a faded symbol, a slim ray of hope for in some future that they could be together; whether he may not even fully himself.

V may not fully aware of what he was feeling that time, but Vergil knew what it was very well.

Addiction.

V was addicted to Rose, addicted to the feeling of being loved and cared after being so lonely and vulnerable in so long. Even if it was such a short time, the joy and happiness she brought was incomparable.

She made him happy and safe.

She made him felt like home.

And yet, she never asked for him anything else except for him being himself again.

"Thank you."

"You are welcome."

Rose said casually when she poured herself some smoothie to drink, all this talk really making her craved something sweet to ease down the her nerve.

"No, thank you Rose." Vergil said firmly. "Thank you for always helping me, when I am at my lowest, when I am not myself. When I never knew I needed for it. Even when I let you down. So thank you for everything."

Rose blinked when she felt something wet on her eyes, she touched her cheeks to see a single drop of tear draped on her finger tip. What he said was nice and sweet, so sincere and warm that it made her aged heart tingle with sensation that she had once felt before. And it was impossible to put it away in the deep corner of her mind now, not with what they had now.

"So what is of us now?" Rose asked when she took a deep breath, tried to calm herself down with all the chaos in her mind. "We are bounded by Hell Marriage, but I am sure as Hell itself that we are not a couple of loving spouse."

"I would like us to be more than even spouse."

"What do you mean?"

Rose asked when she saw Vergil eyes looked down on the table, his fingers slightly clenched into his balm before they released itself as he took a deep breath.

"My father married my mother legally, whether if it was Hell or Earth way. But in the end, he still left her to fend for herself and their children without even saying goodbye. I know that he had his reason and he would probably do it for our better good." Vergil slightly paused at this. "And I don't want that. I don't want someone that will leave me alone even if it is for my life and better good or that I have to do the same thing to that person. I want a person that will always be by my side, to fight and struggle with me until my very last breath. I want a person that will always be there for me as I will always be there for her."

Rose was silent at revelation, his face still remained almost emotionless and his voice was only slightly wavering. But in truth she knew how much weight of the thing he said to her, how hard it was for him to admit it in his mind in the first place let alone for speaking it out loud and how much trust he had for her to share this very intimate thought of him.

So Rose thought hard, really hard this time to find the right thing to say and do at this very important moment. Because she knew, if she did this one wrong, she would hurt Vergil deeply and shattered their relationship forever.

"What do you think is even more than a spouse?"

Rose asked softly when she looked at him, in the end she chose to ask a question. Vergil wouldn't need her to say something sentiment and thoughtful, it was not his kind of thing. He was always a man of purpose and action, so she would give him that. A purpose, a direction or a maybe just guideline for what they are, no matter how vaguely it was.

"A partner." Vergil said with his chin raised up, for a fleeting moment, Rose thought he looked like a kid that was about to brag on his first place trophy. "A person who could be my equal in both strength and mind. Someone who could watch my back when I watch her, a person I could trust in life and battlefield."

"Okay, I can fill the conditions."

Rose smiled at his face, there was this look on him that was screaming 'I only tell you because I know you can.' It was both pride and satisfaction latched on him when he looked at her, and it felt actually kind of nice to her.

"Hey, but you do realize that we are still have much more to do right?" Rose said when she sighed. "I mean we are pretty messed up in so many ways. I had to go to like ten different psychiatrists just to keep myself calm for the first six months here. And I really think we should go to a couple therapy at some point, just so we don't mess with each other up anymore."

Vergil frowned at the fact that he and Rose would go to a stranger and talk about his own private problem. But Rose had endured and given him so much in the beginning, it wouldn't be fair if he wouldn't try it out a little for her. After all for a partnership to work, given and taken had to be happened at the same time.

"Sometime later, but not now." That was Vergil's final answer.

"Of course."

Rose nodded when she took a sip of her smoothie while Vergil continued with his food. Here they were, despite after all of their problem and messes, together and content with each other presence. But she knew it would be soon gone away, because their secrets and nightmares would find a way to creep their way to them again when they decided to open their heart again.

And that's fine for them, because they were both preparing for it this time the moment they agreed for this bond.

For all those tear and hardship tomorrow, as well for anger and frustration that were awaited for them.

But today, just for a short time, they were finally content and peaceful again.


	15. Chapter 15

"Ouchie."

Rose groaned when she dropped the console on the soft pillow, the red letters 'K.O' booming on the screen, telling the fate of her character had gone.

"You should try to get your attack more diverse, if you can only do punching and kicking one of the time without the combo, it would be easy to lose very fast."

"Yes, yes, I am aware." Rose said. "But still Julio, I only learn how to play this game for the last ten minutes. You can't expect much from me."

Rose failed to hear anything Julio said next when she heard another child was trying to play the video at her place as she was, out of the limited time for video game. She watched as the kids playing and sticking their eyes at the screen before the match was over as well as their time for bed had come. There was some whining and pouting in the process of Rose tucking them to bed but the fact that she let them finish the game for few extra minutes after the curfew making the kids a lot easier to handle.

As Rose walked down to the kitchen, she wanted to ask Kyrie if she needed any more help, but seeing she and her son were giggling and talking while doing some dishes, Rose decided that she would leave them alone then.

A couple needed their time, and with Nero's job, it was not that easy.

"You are done playing game of kids?"

"Hey, it is harder than you gave it credit for, okay."

Rose said when she sat down with Vergil on the couch, he was reading a book but it was not his beloved William Blake's collection.

"Hmm, you brought it here too?" Rose asked when she took a quick glance of the cover. "What do you think about it?"

"It has interesting views about about aspects of life as well as philosophies." Vergil said when his eyes still on the book. "I could see why The Zhuangzi book was one of your father favorite."

"Well, my father enjoyed Western Literature but it was the Eastern Culture that made him engrossed the most." Rose said. "He said it is both complicated and simple the same time."

"I could understand the sentiment." Vergil said when he closed the book and put it in his inner pocket. "You read it?"

"Yes, I do."

Rose said; one of the thing about getting too old like her, she actually could sometimes read things like poetry and anecdotes without feeling utterly confusing or felt asleep like before but mildly enjoyed it.

Key word is: 'Sometimes' and 'Mildly' because between watching a K-pop boy band singing and reading something heavily leaned toward to philosophy like The Zhuangzi, she still chose the Korean cute boys first. Most of the time.

"My favorite one is The Butterfly Dream, yours?"

"The Death of Wonton."

"Good choice." Rose said. "The necessity to accept one weakness and innate nature, and the disastrous consequences if you failed to do so. But again, it is not even remotely easy to understand your own weakness and strength without going in hardship faced failure and pain let alone somebody else."

"Exactly, not to mention, sometimes it is difficult to just simple distinct between natural inability and the lack of trying and experience." Vergil said when he slightly paused. "Even so, one may think that he could change his own nature to satisfy his stubbornness and pride without truly knowing the horrendous consequences. Even if he could change his nature, he would lose himself in the process. And what is the point of getting what he needs if his very own self disappeared within existence."

"Yes, it is no point of achieving your goal if the price is losing yourself completely." Rose nodded slightly. "But I think we also need to distinguish between losing one self and the change that one needs to adapt and evolve. Like in The Butterfly Dream, where man and the butterfly changes with each other to the point they don't know who is who even when they woke up. We all change, in every moment we breathing and living; and sometimes when we remember about the people whom we used to be, it feel so strange like the butterfly in a dream." Rose said.

"And I think that's alright. Because no matter how different we are, I believe as long as we remember our past of who we were, like that man remembered the butterfly and the butterfly dreamt of the man, we should be fine. Because from those very memories of changes, we could strive on and be better than whom we were." Rose stopped than smiled. "That and getting so drunk to the point of not knowing who I am is kind of appealing. I mean, I was good girl back there and never drinking anything and now, it is almost impossible for me to get drunk let alone faint out like that. Heck, it is so hard to get even remotely tipsy."

"You are being too reckless with your immortality." Vergil said when he gave her a side glance. "Even if it is almost impossible for you to die, it is still not a good judgment to get yourself in a vulnerable state like that. And if you want to lose your head, there are a lot of better ways to do so."

"What ways?"

Rose asked curiously when she looked at Vergil, but he had already looked up as his body slightly tensed and back straighten up. She turned her head to see another white haired male stepped in the room with a young auburn haired girl; the girl smiled was genuine and warm as usual but the young man seemed to be a lot more rigid as his right fist seemed to be unable to loosen up.

"Hey Nero, Kyrie. Thank you for the dinner." Rose said when she stood up. "We should really get going too, it is getting late already."

"Sure, good night Rose."

Kyrie said warmly when Rose gave her a hug before she turned to Nero and hugged him too, although the latter seemed to be a little bit more stiff than usual. Not because he didn't like being hugged by her, no, she had already trained him to be acquainted with it. The main reason was right behind her, whom despite not look at him, Rose just knew he was standing stiffly and rock hard a stick. Like his son.

"Thank you for you hospitality."

Vergil finally said something after being quiet like dead fish, to which Nero nodded firmly before looking a little bit looked back at her.

"Good night, mom." Nero gave a look to Vergil behind her. "And be safe."

"Sure."

Rose smiled when she patter his shoulder lightly before she went out of the house. The moment they left Nero's residence, Rose could see Vergil's shoulder slightly less tense as he inhaled a deep breath in the cool wind.

"You know, he still needs some time." Rose said. "It may felt like forever, but if you are patient..."

"I know."

Vergil cut in sharply, he immediately felt a pang of regret the moment he said it. He knew she just meant well for both him and their son, but right now he just don't want to hear anything else. Vergil didn't mean any ill intent on her; it was more like of habit to Vergil, to push anything that approached him when he felt stressed and threaten.

"It takes time."

Rose said again, but this time more like a whisper to herself than to Vergil as they walked together to her apartment. The walk was silent, and despite the minor cut earlier, Vergil felt that he still enjoyed it better than the dinner at Nero where the kids was all gawking at him and asking all kind of questions despite Kyrie and Rose's best efforts to giving him some peace. He knew they were just kids and literally didn't bring any harm but being in the spot of attention and prying was not a position that Vergil found comfortable at any sense.

And then there was Nero, who he could clearly see that was still very uncomfortable with him being in his territory and wary of the potential danger he could bring to his family members, included his mother.

Despite all foreseeing those discomforts, Vergil still had to come for this dinner when his partner specific required his appearance on it. And deep down inside, Vergil knew if he wanted to be in the boy's life as a somewhat father figure, he had to start appearing more in his life other than their occasional working together.

"Hey, want to come in my apartment and chill out a little bit."

Rose asked when she opened her door, Vergil nodded tiredly when he entered the house with her. Seemed like he was pretty tired with all these communication with the kids and Nero's wariness to him, Rose thought when he took off his jacket on the hanger and put the boots in the shoes closet.

"You want to drink something?"

Rose hollered from the kitchen while Vergil had sat himself comfortable enough in the couch while taking his Yamato on the table nearby.

"Warm water will be fine."

Rose hummed a soft tune when she brought out two glasses of water for them along with a bowl of fruit for her snack. Rose turned on the TV to see some lady talking about weather forecast; Fortuna's TV programs were kind of suck when of the thing it talked about most was weather and news, and it was not even a competition when comparing to other cable network but at least it_ had _TV programs. Rose remembered when she was here, at that time she felt like the people sole enjoyment was praying to Sparda in the Church _every single day_. Not that she had anything with that, if it made them happy then sure, they could pray all day long but the fact that they so ignorance and naiveté to outside world that made her baffle.

It was like worshipping their god and listening to the church was the Fortuna people only purpose of living; they didn't care about anything else at all that was almost unhealthy. Nero didn't even watch TV until the Order went down and more opening to the outside world; it was really hard for Rose to imagine that when TV had been her life when she was ten. No wonder her grandma ran away from that place when she was fifteen.

"Do you know why Fortuna?"

"Huh?"

Rose tore her eyes from the promotion of a new Fortuna restaurant blinking on the screen that looked really promising; Vergil rubbed his thumbs on the old book on his hand when he said:

"Do you know why he chose Fortuna?"

It didn't take long for Rose to know whom he was asking. Rose gave a soft smile when she looked at the pictures frame hanging on the wall; it happened so long a go and yet she sometimes she felt like it was yesterday: the time when she had them.

"My grandma was a native in Fortuna when Sparda was still ruling in there, and my dad was raised in there; briefly but still counted. So in some way, it is my family roots in whether we liked it or not. So perhaps in my father's shattered mind, since Nero had nowhere to go, it was the best place for him to go back to his roots." Rose sighed. "Beside, even if Fortuna was run by a bunch of demon-turned cultist, even if Nero would definitely ridiculed by the people on it; it was still considered one the safest place from demons on Earth in that time with a whole army of well trained Devil Hunters. Nero may not live an easy life in here, but at least he is living."

Vergil nodded when he put the book back on the shelf, she had expected him to take out another book to read like he usually do. But instead, he took out a small box in his pocket (Rose noted to herself, Vergil really have a lot of pocket on his clothes) and gently put it on her palm:

"There is something I want you to have."

Rose looked the dark blue velvet box on her hand, she opened it to see a small silver rose pendant lying on the black fabric hanging on a small silvery chain. Rose took out the necklace from the box to see it closer, there was a tiny blue stone that was shining on the middle of the pendant that it looked like a drop of dew on the flower.

"It's beautiful, Vergil. I love it." Rose said when she smiled at him. "Can you help me put it on?"

Vergil nodded when he saw Rose turned around him to put the silver chain on her neck, his hand slightly grazed her skin when he said:

"Do you know what a necklace means in Hell?"

"A symbol of possession and control of a demon to another living creature." Rose said when she looked at the pendant on her neck. "Like a dog leash, I think."

"It could be many things." Vergil said when Rose turned around to look at him. "From pure ownership of a demon to his object to a declaration of commitment and affection of a demon to his partner."

"Yeah, causes tonight will be one hell of a night if you just dare to put a demonic dog leash on me."

Vergil didn't laugh at her joke but he looked mildly amused when he rubbed his hand her cheeks before he pinched it lightly. Rose giggled at the feeling when she rubbed her cheeks further in his hands, it was rough and callouses from the long time of welding one of the strongest weapon of the world. He let her held the Yamato for a few second, just because she was curious about the legendary sword and how it felt. It was a lot heavier then she thought, and yet a certain eight years old boy had to wield it to fight again pack and pack of demons after him. With all the crap happened to her, at least Rose could call herself a little bit luckier than him; she was already an adult when it rained down on her.

Rose looked up at Vergil when she felt his hand traced from her cheeks to her neck before he snaked it behind collarbone. He often did this when he kissed her, Rose thought when she felt Vergil pressed his lips against her; it sometimes reminded her of a lioness grabbing its cub by the neck. The thought making her laugh lightly when she felt him kissed at her jaw, Vergil smirked when he put another hand on her thighs and rubbed it lightly:

"Remember when I told you about other way of losing your head."

"Is that so?"

Rose said when she intertwined her hand with his hair, making it slightly ruffle from its usual neat style. To be honest, they still didn't have sex even when they had already established this relationship for months now. Like their doctor said in their first section, it was very wise move for them to do so as sexual activities in the early state of such a complex relationship was very overwhelming of both of them. One, because they were definitely not ready in this kind of commitment in the first place and two, both of them had years of torments as luggage in their hands. They need to get to know each other better and deal with each other issue before going in such an intimate state.

But they were better now and she felt very comfortable with him as he was with her in this very marriage. They had been doing a lot of things together: Vergil had taking her to nice places like restaurants and art museums, and Rose lend Vergil a lot of her father's books and her grandma's grimores for him to read. And sometimes, when Vergil was out with her at the late of night like this, he would stay in her guest room for a night. Or even several nights when he felt his brother's office was too much for him. And in their recent session, the doctor even complimented about their progress, so perhaps it was the time for them to do what a married couple would normally do.

"Let go to my room then."

Rose whispered when she felt his hand went under the hem of her skirt and stroke on her inner thigh in a deceivingly gentle manner; Vergil was in no way a gentle man unless the world turned up side down. He could be gentle and nice, but only to make sure that she was comfortable first before he went into, ehem, the much more different direction. But hey, it was not like she complain, especially when he may not be soft on her but definitely went on his way to make sure she enjoyed every single moment as he did.

Vergil smirked when he grabbed hard on Rose bottom while he lifted her whole body on his hand while walking toward her room. Rose giggled when she kissed him and wrapped her legs around his hips as she started to undo his shirt:

"Just like our first time, only minus the demons and a van."

"If you want, I could arrange the demon."

Vergil said when he put her on the bed and started to remove their clothes. He kissed her hungrily while his hands explored every single inches of her soft skin while slightly pinched its hard now and then just to hear her sultry moan and cried out. It was even better than he remembered, Vergil thought when a hand of his caressed down from her stomach not before gave her breast a quick squeeze on the breast and reached to the destination of her sensitive clit. He could feel her breath slightly hitched when he claimed her lips again making her can only gave out soft muted sounds when he was playing with her clit.

Vergil left her mouth to trace his tongue from her neck to her chest, the shining rose on her neck caught his eyes for a moment when he groped the lope of her soft breast while sucking another as his other hand still playing with her core. Truly, looking at the symbol of his bond on her while taking her like this made him wanted to take her in every way he could even stronger than it already had. But patient was a virtue, and Vergil could be patient, especially when the night was still young and his partner was not going anywhere.

Not ever, not without him by her side.

Suddenly the very said partner pushed him off her and climbed on his lap while having this mischievous smile on her. It didn't take long for him to when he felt his fingers wrapped around his member when she bite down on his shoulder. Vergil slapped hard again her buttocks when her fingers started to stroke him harder when she licked on his Adam apple.

"What are you playing at?" Vergil let out a soft growl as he felt something was caressing all over on his backside and neck. It was somewhat unfamiliar feeling, definitely not uncomfortable but the same time, it made him tingling with sensation that he could not put a finger on.

"Something fun." Rose said when her she started to traced down to his chest and bite on one of his nipple. "But if you don't like it, I could stop it."

"Save it for later." Vergil said when he lifted her chin up. "Right now, I am preferred just something simple."

Rose shrugged as the magic spell she put on disappeared, Vergil let out a sigh when he bend down and put on her neck small kisses.

"Sorry, I don't think it would bother you that much." Rose said when she stroke on his hair. "I just want for us to have some fun."

"Just for later."

Vergil replied when he claimed her lips again, the truth was he would like to keep his mind as clear as he could. Ever since gaining V's memories, sometimes when he was with her, it felt like a livid dream than the reality. Sometimes he still found it hard to tell, if what were his memories or V's. Perhaps it was the side effect of the ritual he had gone through, or probably because this was what V dreamt about for so desperately, dreamt of being with her as whole without being in pain or scaring that tomorrow she would be gone from his mind.

So unlike his partner, for their first time in the marriage, Vergil would not want to lose his head in the moment. He wanted to truly feel and live in it, knowing that everything was real: that he got be with someone that would never leave his side again.

As he made up his mind again, Vergil grabbed her knees and spread them wide before he heaved himself. As they both groaned out in pleasure for the first penetration, Vergil pulled his shaft almost out again and then slammed it right back, earning a soft whimper from his wife. Truly, she looked even more beautiful than ever: ebony hair fanned on the pale sheets, porcelain skin now flush in a pink while her red lips slightly opened like a blooming red rose that made he wanted to claim it again.

"Say it." Vergil gripped her hip harder. "Say that you want to be mine, and mine only."

"I am all of yours." Rose whispered when she wrapped her arms around his neck. "As long as you are mine."

That was all he need as he started to pick up his pace faster and stronger, thrusting himself in and out in pure satisfaction and pleasure. The sound of their skin slapping together echoes in the air, their lips met again sloppily and passionate just like their relationship was. Rose groaned when she felt Vergil's fang grew and grazed her lips, but the wound quickly heal as she broke out the kiss as she tasted his blood.

Rose stared at Vergil, he still kept his human facade partly on but his eyes turned golden and his fangs pierced out his gum. Blood trickled on his chin when the sharp fang cut on his lips, he still keeping his pace when his eyes bore at her, hunger emerged from the golden irises as he hissed at her.

Rose knew what he was silently demand; blood was power for demon. Power to take and to give, just what partner would do in the marriage.

"Take it."

Rose said when she tilted her neck, she felt his fang plunged at her veins when she allowed her blood flowed out from her broken skin: Immortal was difficult to bleed, unless they were really weak or they wanted to. Rose heard her demonic partner growled in pleasure when his tongue licked on her skin, the hands grabbed on her hips even tighter when his thrust became even more ferocious to the point almost animalistic.

Rose bite down on her lips to prevent another shameless moan escaped from her throat as she felt huge wave of euphoria crashing on her when her nails digged hard on the flesh of his back, making the white haired demon growled hard at hard. It was not their first time, but it was the first time he went so rough on her like this. Looked at him now, how fast and strong his thrust was, made Rose realize how much he had held back when they were teenager. If he was like this when they were in Fortuna, Rose pretty sure her hips would not just be sore for few days like then.

It did not take long when her demonic partner hitting climax too, as she felt his warm essence filled her stomach and his sharp teeth sink on the skin of her neck again.

"I didn't know you are such a biter."

Rose said when Vergil rolled off her body, his hand swept the messy bang of his hair back as a smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth:

"I was being gentleman with you back there."

"Right, so that was your gentleman standard." Rose said when she rolled at her side to get a better look at him. "Sorry, but what about the thing you did at a punishment for the one time I felt at sleep. Was that also your gentleman's trait too?"

"No, it was a punishment." Vergil slapped hard at her buttock. "But I couldn't say it was a proper one since you seemed to be quite enjoying it while it lasted."

Rose rolled her eyes when she rested her head on his chest, the sound of his heart beat gradually getting slower from the frantic beat was so soothing and comforting.

"You know, I wouldn't mind being like this with you." Rose said when Vergil fingers were caressing softly on her bare shoulder. "For this night, or every nights from now."

Rose felt Vergil slightly shifted as she looked up at him, his blue eyes looked deep at her when his hand put on her head. After a few moments of silent, he finally said:

"Dante's place has been getting too crowded for me anyway."

"And not to mention his scary hygiene. I think I saw your brother go into the toilet while still wearing gloves once."

"Trust me, not just once." Vergil said in annoyance.

Rose giggled when she felt Vergil's hand patted lightly on her head, suddenly there was this glint in his eyes when he sat up and picked her up by her waist. Before Rose could ask what was wrong, she felt he guided her hands for them to be put firmly on the headboard while position for her to be on her knee while he was behind her.

Rose sighed when she felt his hands caressing her back and put aside a lock of her hair on her shoulder in such a gentle way that could only mean that the calm before the storm for her. She felt him rubbing his quickly hardened shaft on butt cheeks, hands that had already gripped hard on her hips when he whispered on her ear:

"Dear, you look so fuckable like this."

Rose eyes widened when she felt the sudden shift around her; the air was getting colder as the puff of cold airs blew down from her above her head, hands turned into enormous claw that can easily wrapped around her whole waist and shredded her whole while the soft skin turned into scale the scratched hard on her back. Rose looked up to see the demon hovered above her, his horned created deep scratched on her wall as he slightly tilted his head as his tail slightly lift her chin up.

"That wallpaper is not cheap."

The demon above her said nothing when she said that as his chest grumbled from what look like a somewhat in between a laugh and a growl. The tail that was lifting her chin moved away from her face and slowly traced down to her thighs to spread them even wider and without a warning, the demon thrusted his cock hard on her.

Rose gritted hard on her teeth, white stars danced before her eyes as pain and pleasure both consume her mind when the demon was on his ruthless pace, not caring how his partner was faring. Or he cared, but he did this because he knew she could cope with this. Or he knew even when she couldn't cope with this, she wouldn't break; for whatever reason above, Rose didn't know any more. She couldn't think, she couldn't comprehend and couldn't even contain the pathetic whimper that escaped her lips.

The demon was pleased to see this, to see her big black eyes stared at him with nothing but his reflection and utter pleasure in it, to see the normal confident and wise demeanor of her breaking out in pieces as she turned into a wanton mess for him. The demon smacked at her firm buttock to earn another cries out of her; even when he had recognized when she was his equal, the need to be the best and overpowered everyone else would always burn deep inside his blood as a Hell Spawn. So he loved this; loved that his mate willingly to submit herself for him, loved that she was willingly to bend for him, loved the fact that he was the only one could ever bring out such a side of her.

And as his reward to her, he shall give her the most sinful ecstasy that any one could ever have, to make her mind so numb in bliss that she could think of no one but him; he want to give her a taste of how pleasurable her sweet submission felt to him. Her cunt felt so tight and wet around his demonic cock he knew she was about to come again, and he was willingly to give her that. But not before she must ask for it.

"Tell me, is this enough for you to lose your head or do you want me to give you more?"

Rose could barely make out what the blue demon said when his deep grumble echoed in her ears; thin sweat was covering on her whole body, her legs felt numbs while her hand felt like it may give up on any moment now from the constant need of keeping herself in this position while the demonic cock that was thrusting inside her as the inhumane pace. Despite that, despite being fucked so hard that her body felt like it was breaking apart; she still couldn't think anything else that she wanted more but having him wrecked her like this.

"Yes." Rose said breathlessly. "Yes, please."

The demon roared out satisfied as he plunged himself harder inside, the headboard of the bed smashed again the wall for the million time of the night as a deep crack appeared on it. Rose swore she could hear her finger snap along the way, but she could not care less when demon cock stretching her so wickedly good like this.

A snarl escaped from the demon clenched fang when he felt his partner moaned out as her walls clenched around him, she was so close for coming and he was not any far better. Climax soon washed over both of them as the dark haired lady called out her partner's name while the demon plunged his fang again in her throat so deep that it would kill any other mortal being.

Rose let out a small sobs when she felt the throbbing pain in her throat made its appearance as the pleasure receded from its erotic waves. A part of her wanted to push him away or tell to cut it out as what he was doing hurting her. But another part, the part that had agreed to give him her soul willingly in the first place told her to trust. Trust that he would know and that he would care about her feelings and wellbeing as much she did to him.

The air shifted when Rose felt her neck was finally free, the hard scale that was scratching her back was gone and replaced with tender flesh as Vergil rubbed his nose on the wound on her neck:

"Better?"

"Yeah."

Rose said when she let go of the near shattered headboard to let herself felt limp on his arms, she felt herself was being shifted back on his chest as Vergil wrapped his arms around her. Rose closed her eyes when she focused on her healing, her hip and throat obviously needed some care but she didn't expect to have her knee and hand got so much bone cracking like that. Rose let out a small huff when she punched Vergil in his ribs lightly:

"You sadistic demon."

"If you said so, I will get a whip and a cuff then." Rose didn't get to see his face but she was pretty sure there was this smug smile on his face.

"Right, you would love that, wouldn't you?"

Rose huffed lightly when she felt his hand stroking her hair gently. Sleepiness came over Rose as she felt her aching muscles slowly relaxed, she rubbed her cheeks again his chest when she let out a light yawn.

"Tired already?"

"Yes, I am still a human Vergil. I don't have a stamina or strength like a demon." Rose said when wrapped her arms around his waist. "Especially a son of Sparda."

"Perhaps I can help with it."

Before Rose could comprehend what happened with her tired mind, she felt his lips was on her with taste of metal and saltiness filled her nose as his tongue danced with her. It didn't dawn on her at first, but when she felt a warmth rise in her stomach and slowly running to her whole body that chased down all those fatigue away from her aching body.

He gave her his blood, the demonic blood that would help her heal and get back on her feet again just so he could fuck her again.

"You are still not sated? Not with all that?" Rose pointed at her ruined walls and headboard. "How much pent up are you?"

"I don't know." Vergil said when he bite her ears lightly. "Hopefully, you can help me find out."

...

By the time Rose woke up again, she saw Vergil had already dressed up neatly standing at the corner of her room while shuffling on his luggage. She moved her toe lightly to make sure her legs was good now before checking her whole body again, just to be sure that she was healing properly after what he did to her the whole night long.

"What time is it?" Rose asked when she rubbed her eyes, the reeling effect of pleasure and tiredness from last night still lingered on her body.

"1 P.M." Vergil said when he took out a folded shirt from a bag. "I see some empty drawers, could I use it?"

"It is meant for you in the first place."

Rose said. When she agreed to see this marriage until the end, she knew that she would have to make some spot for him in her life at some time in the future. A space in her closet seemed like a good beginning.

"Good."

Vergil nodded as the corner of his mouth tugged up lightly when he finished unpacking his clothes, which was not much in the first place. Rose looked down to see she had been cleaned properly and dressed up in a simple night gown. She didn't even expect that he had helped her clean up so thoroughly while she passed out like that, which was both considerate and kind of creepy on his side.

"I bought you some lunch, or some afternoon snack if you see it."

"Thanks."

Rose said when she stepped down from her nearly ruined bed, it was still standing on its four legs but the headboard and the wall behind it was beaten up like a scramble egg. Rose snapped her finger, the wall and the bed was quickly put back in one piece but her violet flower wallpaper was unrecoverable. It was time to change it anyway, Rose thought, perhaps she could choose something like lily or pea flower this time.

"You know, I intended to use it for our first night in marriage."

Rose said when she noticed how much Vergil was staring at her laced night gown as she sat down before her vanity and brushed her messy hair down. Through the reflection of the mirror, she saw him slowly making his way to her.

"It's very appealing on you." Vergil said when he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "But it is unnecessary cause it was meant to be taken off any way."

"Lingerie meant to create the mood, not to be lingered long on the owner." Rose giggled when she continued to brush her hair. "But from last night, I think you didn't need it much."

Rose felt his hand on her shoulders again, so gently caressed on her shoulder and neck that she would almost think that he was just being thoughtful. Almost.

"I just woke up Vergil, and it isn't night time yet." Rose sighed when she put down the brush.

"Intercourse doesn't have to be done at night, it is just a preferred time." Vergil said when he bend down and put his chin on her head. "And I could wait after you finish your meal."

"Hah, right."

Rose let out a dried laugh when she shook him off her body and stood up. The horny demon was still not satisfied with his insatiable lust, and while she would love to help him with it, she was not a sex doll that can be 24/7 readied for his need. She needed rest, like real rest, not passed out because of exhaustion only because the demon deemed that his need was mildly sated.

She gave him a glance when she pulled down the flimsy strap of the dress off her shoulder and let the light material fell on the floor before she walked into the bathroom. She vaguely heard something like an animal growl when she stepped in the bathroom, but she ignored it anyway. As her one last attempt at poking at a certain blue demon, Rose poke her head out of the bathroom door again and stick her tongue out at her growling demonic partner before she ducked right back in and shut the door tightly.

Rose pretty sure she would pay dearly for that later, but it was not like he would be easy with her if she played nice anyway.

As the warm water engulf her body as her tired mind slowly became foggy, her hands slowly rubbing her lower stomach as she vaguely thought about how come it was so easy for a life to form and how weak it was as a tiny fetus. But nonetheless, she would try the best to make it could see the light of the world, as well as giving its all the love she could like the way she did to its brother.

And hopefully, Vergil could feel the same as her.

**A/N: I decide to end this with a bang (like literally) and a kind of HE/OE. Hope you all enjoy this and thank you for sticking with this story till the end.**


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